A Never Ending Battle
by Ellaine7
Summary: Why couldn't Umbrella just die? Alice, Claire, and Chris are forced to fight for the survivors onboard the Arcadia. Just what was in store for the three? /Takes place at the end of Afterlife.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or the characters.**

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><p>Wesker smirked as he fixed his sunglasses and popped his neck in an inhuman fashion. Alice and her little heroic friends thought they had finished him off in the little scuffle back at the Arcadia. But they forgot one thing. The T-virus that ran through his veins was strong. Much much more powerful than he himself had anticipated. Yes, they made sure to put a sizeable amount of bullets through his chest and such, but the grave mistake that Alice made was leaving Bennett in the enclosed room with him. It was like leaving a hamster in the cage of a deadly snake.<p>

"I told her that the T-virus was so strong that it fought me for control. That I needed to feed, hence the dead survivors on the tables in that room I was sitting in. She should have known I would feed off of Bennett. And they called her Project Alice? Dr. Isaac wasted time in making a useless Umbrella pawn that was no smarter than an average human." Of course, no one was in the Umbrella helicopter with him, but his superior like attitude always made him think out loud. He glanced at the bomb timer he had in his hand, his gloved finger pressing the "Purge Facility" button. He smiled at the thought of the entired ship and its occupants being destroyed.

The evil smirk instantly dropped from his face as he heard an odd ticking sound behind him. Wesker moved from the pilot seat and walked down the aisle of the helicopter, stopping and turning to the right as he found the source of the noise. He quickly removed the red supply bags only to find an unexpected surprise waiting behind them. An Umbrella bomb with three seconds left before detonating. His eyes glowed a menacing deep red color under his sunglasses as the countdown of the bomb reached its end.

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On the top deck of Arcadia were three, clearly out of breath people. Alice along with Chris and Claire Redfield. They had just finished running from the bottom of the ship where they had watched Wesker escape in the Umbrella aircraft.

"Ha! I didn't want you to miss that," Alice exclaimed as the helicopter and presumably Wesker, were engulfed in the massive explosion of the bomb. It was like a giant firework display for all of the survivors to see as they stepped out on to the deck of the Arcadia for a breath of fresh air. A much welcomed surprise for them after the long containment inside the glass prisons they had been forced in. The gently sea breeze that swept by made it even better.

Claire could only nod in agreement to Alice. A big smile plastered on her face after realizing he didn't exactly get away after all. All thanks to Alice's quick thinking beforehand. It was like she predicted what would happen and decided to put the bomb into that just one aircraft he would get into. It was brilliant. The woman she was fighting side by side with was amazing. That's all she could think of.

Claire glanced over to look at her brother. He too had a small smile on his dirt covered face. The memories were slowly coming back to her. She remembered bits and pieces of things. Like Alice, and that dreadful day where she reached down on to Alaska with the remainder of the convoy, only to be captured by Umbrella. She had escaped and fought at her captors, but only to have a red spider device slapped on to her chest. They didn't even bother going after her. From then on, everything was just fuzzy until Alice had removed it from her. She hated the memory loss so much.

The distinct humming sound of helicopters approaching ruined Claire's train of thought. She turned around to look at what Alice and Chris were staring at in the sky.

"What is that?" Chris managed to ask. The question being directed at Alice more than his sister. They could only remain still, watching as the twenty plus helicopter squadron advanced towards the weather beaten cargo ship they resided on.

"Trouble," Alice replied. Just when she thought that they could provide the survivors with what they deserved, a force that reeked of Umbrella managed to step in her path once more. She promised the people on board of safety, food, and shelter. Alice wasn't going to give in without a fight. That she could guarantee.

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Luther clumsily ran out to the edge of the sewage pipe, out of breath and with torn clothing. He turned around at the sound of two moaning zombies, both of which were fixated on clasping their tentacle like things protruding from their decaying mouths on to his flesh. Luther wasn't going to have it. He brought up his right hand that held his handgun, and sent two perfect rounds into the head of each zombie.

"Star power bitches!" His little triumph of escaping an ugly death was overshadowed by the sounds of helicopters. The thick fog that had surrounded the Arcadia was long gone, and he could clearly see people on the top of the deck. Luther wasn't far off from the ship. It was reaching it that had him stuck. He continued to gaze at the survivors on the Arcadia. Actually, he was only staring at one in particular. It was Alice. At first it was because she was the only one on board that caught his eye. To him, she just stood out like a bright star among dull ones. He chuckled a bit at his lame comparison of her to a star. His smile fell as he noticed the tense pose she was in. It had him assuming that the oncoming helicopters she appeared to be looking at weren't exactly a welcoming committee.

Luther estimated he was over a mile away from the ship. Nothing separating them other than a huge and vast amount of water. "If I don't find a boat right now then I gotta swim over there. Awesome," Luther muttered. His day just kept getting better and better...

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><p><strong>Hope my short, first chapter wasn't too bad. Leave a review if you want me to continue on with the story.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

A woman with long blonde hair walked down the aisle of an aircraft. She was wearing a dark purple combat suit that clung tightly to her body, accentuating her curvy toned body even more. A red spider machine could be seen on her chest, its metal legs twitching ever so slightly. Heavily armored and geared Umbrella agents sat on side seats as they watched the form of their leading commander walk past them.

Her authoritative and cold voice rang through the Helicopter."Deployment in T-minus fifty-seven seconds. When you hit the deck you watch your formation. Take no prisoners and shoot to kill. Total enemy numbers are unknown but will include Umbrella fugitives and prime targets, Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield and Project Alice. So people, whatever is waiting for you down there, just know one thing. You, are going to be in for the fight of your lives."

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Alice reacted quickly and commanded Chris and Claire to get the survivors to safety below the decks. "They have weapons in one of the storage bins down there. I just know it. Claire, get everyone below decks and into that white room from earlier. Chris, follow me and help search for that storage container."

Claire nodded at Alice, and turned to yell for everyone to run back inside. Confused looks hovered on many of the survivors faces. They didn't want to go back after being trapped in the closed quarters. To them, the redheaded lady was talking nonsense.

"Hurry and listen to what she just said! Those things are going to kill us!" A young woman with long blonde hair yelled as she pointed at the oncoming invasion. Claire knew the young teenager from somewhere. Then it hit her. It was K-Mart! Her memory was slowly, but surely coming back.

The survivors rushed to keep up with the Claire as she leaded the way down to the bottom decks. None were going to argue now.

"Not the way I wanted to inform them," Alice hissed as she clenched and unclenched her revolver that was held on her waist holder.

"Doesn't matter now. What's done is done," Chris replied back to her as they followed behind the mob of people. It was amusing to see Alice upset. He actually thought it made her look cute.

"Alice! I'm coming with you!" K-Mart yelled as she caught up to Alice.

"You should go down with the others," Alice simply said. Her expression as serious as ever.

"No, and you won't be able to make me," replied K-Mart stubbornly. Her face showing a pouting expression, making her look childish when she really wasn't.

"No, I guess I can't make you," Alice answered back. A small smile tugging at the edge of her face. That was K-Mart for ya. Stubborn, edgy, and ready for almost anything. She had to admit that she had missed K-Mart in the short time they were separated.

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Luther jogged along the jagged, slippery edge of the shoreline in hopes of finding a small boating dock. He really didn't want to swim, and he needed to get to the ship fast. He had to help Alice. Sure enough, he spotted a rough looking dock and he was in luck. There was a small boat with the rope attached to the dock pillar, effectively keeping it from floating away into the ocean. What he didn't know was that it was the same area that Chris, Claire, and Alice had found their means of transportation to the ship.

He removed the rope, hopped into the boat, and pushed it away from the sorry looking dock that held it. It took a couple of tries to get the motor running, but it finally hummed and then roared to life. He steered the scratched up blue boat to his intended destination, all the while thinking about Alice. Back at the Citadel Correctional Facility, where Alice made an outstanding and almost disastrous landing, he couldn't help but ponder over what she had said. Alice had told him that he looked awfully familiar, with which he just replied that it was probably because of the Ad he was in for selling watches. Back then he didn't admit it, but Alice looked familiar to him as well. Yet, he didn't know why.

Luther shook his head to get the thoughts of Alice out and decided to stretch his arms and legs. It felt like he had gone to hell and back after fighting his way through the sewers. The zombies that took him by surprise were met with his gun and his powerful punches and kicks. What he couldn't answer either was why he didn't feel all that tired or sore. Luther stared at his knuckles for a long time. "I could've swore I had scratches on my knuckles from scraping them against a rock earlier," he muttered.

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"Found em!" Chris yelled as he opened the second container. "K-mart right?" The teen nodded in affirmation. "Alright, then tell Claire to get everyone lined up over here. You help her issue out the weapons to those who are willing and able to fight first." She nodded once more and left to inform Claire.

Alice stepped in front of Chris to look at the selection of weapons. "Better pick some good ones Chris."

"Oh I will," he responded to her as he stocked up on his choice of weaponry. He watched as Alice dumped her revolvers to the floor and replaced them with handguns that would definitely pack more of a punch. Alice reached for the shotguns on her back, slid them out of their holdings, and placed them next to the revolvers. In place of them, she added two katanas. The swords looking a lot like the ones that she had used in the Tokyo facility. In fact, they were the same ones.

"Those bastards put some of my weapons in here. Guess they didn't intend for me getting them back," she said to Chris. He just grunted and shook his head at her before grabbing his last weapon. An assault rifle. A Micro Galil to be more precise.

Alice frowned as he watched him pick it up. Not that it was a bad choice. But that it was the same weapon the Carlos would always have with him. Carlos trusted that weapon the most, and Alice would tease him about it being glued to his hands because he seemed to never want to put it down. That was back then though. When the world was still gone like it is now, but also when he was still alive. Alice closed her eyes. It still hurt to think of him. She loved Carlos. He was there for her when the rest of the world wasn't. He believed in her when no one else wanted to. And now he was dead and she was still alive. Alice still blamed herself for his demise. Everyone she loved or cared about died around her. That's why her poker face of an expression never faltered. Her emotions never shown beyond it. She didn't want others to get attached to her. She didn't want to get attached to someone else again. Alice couldn't lose someone else like she did Carlos.

Chris noticed Alice with her eyes closed. He could see the pain in her facial features and he wondered why. "Alice? Are you alright?" he asked.

Alice quickly opened her eyes and the expression was gone in an instant. Her unphased and calm expression taking over once more. "Yea, I'm fine Chris," she responded back calmly. She grabbed the rest of her weapons just as the loud thud of helicopters landing reached her ears.

"Guess they are ready up there," Chris said nervously as he put his sunglasses on.

Alice walked out of the red container with Chris trailing right behind her. "And we are going to make sure they get one hell of a welcome." Alice was ready for the fight. Umbrella wasn't going to take her down so long as she had something to protect.

"Hell yea," Came the response from a familiar redhead. It was Claire with the rest of the survivors in tow. They were ready to get their fair share of action.

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><p><strong>This chapter is a bit of a build up in preparation for the upcoming battle in the next chapters, so sorry if it bored you...lol. Reviews of all kinds are welcome.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Alice stepped on to the deck to face a well equipped force of Umbrella henchmen. They were in long lines and rows, facing the entrance of where she exited from. The helicopters had managed to fit at the tail end of the boat. All parked tightly together like cars in a parking lot. Alice didn't think that was possible but they proved her wrong.

"Who knew they were so civil in waiting for us to prepare," Chris whispered to her.

"They usually aren't," she responded back. Claire walked up behind the two and stood to the left of Alice. Fully geared survivors following from behind. Well, as geared as they could get with what they had on the ship.

Alice turned to look at the people whom trusted her and Claire. They looked for someone of leadership and turned to the two of them. Alice could see the fear in their eyes. They weren't trained like their opponents. They didn't have the protective gear like them. They just weren't ready for what was about to happen. And Alice couldn't change that. She knew they were going to lose people today. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too much.

"How many survivors are joining us?" Chris asked.

"There are an estimated two thousand survivors aboard this ship. Eight hundred are willing to fight. They want revenge, and they want to protect the other survivors just like us." Claire firmly stated.

One of the Umbrella henchmen in the straight line of people moved forward two steps. Alice reached for her shotgun, ready to pull it out and shoot him if he made a move. Claire and Chris raised their guns as well. The man didn't even flinch or raise his weapon. He was cool as a cucumber so to speak.

The boat was big. It wasn't an average size ship. It was like a cargo ship times four. It was just that massive. It was the only reason the helicopters could land and the only reason there was forty yards separating the two opponents.

The man that moved out of line brought out a piece of paper from his pocket. "We have been authorized to annihilate every last human being aboard this ship. No mercy shall be granted. Out of the kindness of the Umbrella Corporation we give you one last chance to allow you to say your last words." He loosened his grip on the paper and let the wind carry it away. It was clear that he was finished talking.

Chris frowned as he heard Alice laugh. Was she losing it? How could she just laugh like that in a time like this? Claire gave him a puzzled look. She didn't know what was up with Alice either.

"Our chance to give our last words? How kind of you. Now let's see. My last words will be…Fuck you." Alice whipped out her shotgun and fired at the man faster than anyway could have seen.

"What the-"Claire couldn't finish her sentence as she saw the man standing. Perfectly unharmed. It wasn't that that caught her attention though. The projectiles that fired off from Alice's shotgun were frozen in mid air. It was like a force field had stopped them in their place.

Alice's eyes widened a bit before she gave a silent curse. Someone had the same power as she did when the T-virus was at work and running through her veins. She was human now, but the realization that someone on that other side had unworldly powers made her want those powers back again. Just to make the playing field even. Just so that she could keep more people from getting hurt. Alice had on more than one occasion felt like her powers were coming back. But there were no signs of it. The wound on her arm where Bennett had stabbed her still throbbed. It wasn't healing like it would have if her powers were back. She didn't have her strength or accelerated speed either.

The row of Umbrella soldiers shifted slightly to allow a passage in the middle. A passage for someone to walk through and to the front of the infantry line. And that person was one of the last people Alice ever expected to see.

"Long time no see Alice. I can see you look a little beaten up. A little, too human now so to speak." It was none other than Jill Valentine. Former suspended S.T.A.R.S member whom had joined Alice in the escape of Raccoon City. Alice remembered the Jill with short black hair, and an attitude that Alice couldn't help but like. Jill was skilled in every aspect of combat. Alice remembered Carlos saying that Jill had gone with Angela in search of people that needed to be rescued. She had had her own convoy of people to help out. Didn't really seem to be the case now.

Alice clenched her shotgun tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Jill? That can't be you!"

"Oh but it is me Alice," replied Jill. An evil smile covered her face as she reached the front of her side of infantry men. Jill's pose radiated confidence and power as she stood at the front of the battle line.

That's when Alice noticed the all too familiar looking spider on Jill's chest. Alice clenched her teeth in anger. Umbrella had not only experimented on Jill, but they controlled her threw that thing on her chest. And Alice knew that Jill didn't hand herself over for Umbrella's experimentation willingly.

"Valentine? How could you choose Umbrella's side? It's me. Chris." Chris removed his sunglasses in hopes that Jill would recognize him. She didn't.

"Chris, you know her?" Alice asked softly. He nodded his head to confirm her question. His eyes showed a mixture of disbelief and betrayal as he looked on at Jill. Claire could only render a confused look at her older brother. Meaning she did not know Jill like he did. Or rather that she just didn't remember.

"It's not the actual Jill that you know Chris. I know it's hard to believe but I am telling you the truth. That thing that resembles a spider on her chest is the cause of this. I had found that on Claire before taking it off. It induces some sort of memory loss through injecting the host with some form of liquid. Now I can see that Umbrella is using it to control her as well," Alice informed him. His expression of disbelief turned to anger as he absorbed what Alice had told him.

"Those bastards are going to pay. I am going to personally kill those Umbrella leaders responsible for doing this to Jill and my sister," He angrily said.

"So let me say this once more. Any last words?" Jill's crisp voice rang through the air as her question lingered unanswered.

"Yes," responded Alice. "I won't let you harm anyone on this ship. Your fight is with me and with me only Jill." Alice was going to take that thing off Jill or kill her to free her friend of Umbrella's control. That is, if Jill didn't happen to kill her first.

Alice waited as Jill pondered what she had just said. "Very well. I will kill you first and then I shall work my way through those people you are so bravely trying to protect." Jill smiled that evil smile of hers. It looked so unnatural to Alice. She was going to wipe it right off her face.

K-Mart gripped her weapon even tighter after listening to what Jill had finished saying. She couldn't bear to lose Alice or Claire. They had been there for her during the time the convoy was attacked. They were the last two left that she remembered. She was close to them, and losing one of them would be like losing Carlos that dreadful day he drove the gas tanker to kill all the zombies that were in the way of them reaching the helicopter. He died to save them. Now Alice was going to die doing the same thing. Saving them from those retched people.

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Luther sighed and rubbed his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time. He could have sworn he was only a mile away from the ship when he had looked through the drainage pipe he got out of. One mile turned into four miles. "What the hell is going on to me?" he said out loud in frustration. "No way could I have seen Alice that clearly from that long of a distance. It's not humanly possible." Something was wrong, and it was starting to frighten him a bit. Scaring him more than the zombies he had encountered that day.

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><p><strong>Just got back from vacation in Cabo San Lucas. (It was horrible. I had bad luck all week over there lol). My goal was to update the day I got back and well, I hope it wasn't a dissapointing chapter!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

It happened so fast. Claire watched as Jill momentarily disappeared and then reappeared just mere inches in front of Alice. Quicker than what a human should have been able to move, Jill grabbed Alice and threw her to the floor behind Claire. It was like fighting Wesker again. Alice was fighting another supernatural being and this time, without her or Chris's help.

Jill's movement started the battle. Her men moved and so did the survivors under Chris and Claire's command. Both forces closed the short distance and fought. Some had guns but not all did. Others had batons and swords for close combat such as this. Some even ditched weapons all together in favor of hand to hand combat. It was chaos at its worst. A battle that shouldn't have needed to been fought.

Alice swiftly got up from her position on the floor. To be honest, she wasn't expecting getting thrown like that just now. And being caught off guard didn't help her situation. She avidly searched around as the survivors and other Umbrella soldiers past her. Where did Jill go? "Shit," Alice muttered under her breath.

"I'm right here if that's what you are wondering Alice." Jill was right behind her. She was grinning at the thought of such a strong woman being so helpless. It amused her to no end.

Alice whipped her leg around in an attempt to hit Jill with a round house kick. Jill dodged it and sent a kick off her own. A kick meant to hit Alice's chest was just barely blocked. Alice was lucky enough to cross her arms to soften the blow. The force of the kick still sent her flying back a couple of feet where she fell once more on to the deck. Alice clenched her teeth as she got up. Her body hurt, and if she was going to get that mechanical spider off of Jill, she was going to need a miracle or some extreme luck.

Claire moved her way through the Umbrella agents like a skilled marksman. She aimed for their gunmen as her brother covered her back. He shot at those that got too close to Claire. Both were trying to avoid hand to hand combat so long as they had guns. Their supreme aim left many Umbrella people down for the count. It was like target practice.

"Claire! Duck!" yelled Chris. He was out of ammo, and an Umbrella agent wielding a Katana was about to slice her. She followed her brother's instruction and dropped to the floor just as the thin blade ran its horizontal arc.

"You fucker," Chris managed to say as he used his assault rifle like a bat to hit the soldier whom was so close to cutting his sisters head off. He cracked the helmet of the Umbrella guy like a piñata.

Claire smiled at her bigger brother before giving him a quick thanks. He offered her his hand as she picked herself up from the ground. They were now down to two handguns each, and the Umbrella forces didn't look any bit smaller. "Chris. I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," Claire said.

"Yea, I know what you mean," he replied back to her. He tossed his broken sunglasses to the floor before shooting more of the Umbrella soldiers.

K-Mart watched in horror as survivors fell to their knees. Umbrella showed no mercy as they cut through her people. Blood ran on the decks of the Arcadia from both sides. She was frozen in terror as others ran past her to join in on the fight. She wasn't a killer. She couldn't do what the others were doing. They fought for the lives of the others that were on board the ship, yet, she couldn't bring herself to fire the weapon. Out of nowhere, Alice appeared at her feet. Well, she was actually thrown there to be more precise.

"Alice!" K-Mart lifted Alice up from the deck and helped her onto her feet.

Alice turned and noticed K-Mart's look of worry. The girl was just a teen. She should have been doing what normal teens would have been doing. Like going to prom, worrying about boys, worrying about fashion, and all that sort of stuff. Yet here she was, one of the many people carrying a heavy burden thanks to the zombiefied world they had to call home. It wasn't fair for the girl to watch such horrific and gruesome violence. It just wasn't fair.

"K-mart. Get inside if you can't do anything out here. No use in getting yourself killed," Alice replied coldly. Alice didn't need people just standing on the deck. She needed those that were willing to fight. Her cold demeanor was only meant to get K-mart to snap out of it and make a decision. Unfortunately for Alice, she didn't know what K-mart chose as her answer for Jill popped up yet again. And yes, Jill once again, threw Alice into the throng of people who were fighting.

Alice flew into an Umbrella agent and knocked him down. She was tired of getting tossed around like a rag doll as the others around her fought for life and death. She had only managed to land a couple of blows on Jill. And from the looks of it, Jill wasn't even feeling them. Alice pulled out a Katana from her back holster, only to have it instantly knocked out of her hands by Jill.

"Alice, if you have any tricks up your sleeve then I suggest you use them soon," Jill said as she snapped the Katana like a toothpick.

Chris threw his handguns at oncoming Umbrella agents. Heck. They were out of ammo anyway. It was time to resort to actual hand combat. And from the looks of it, Claire was about to do the same. They stood back to back as the Umbrella force surrounded the two. The teamwork they possessed made it seem like they had been fighting together for years.

"Well this sucks," he managed to say. Claire gave a small laugh before sighing in agreement.

"Yea I think I would rather fight Wesker again."

"No kidding." He replied to her. It was like fighting a losing battle.

Luther didn't even bother to tie the boat down as he reached the edge of the Arcadia. He jumped for the rope latter that hung at the edge of the boat and climbed upward to the deck. He needed to help all of them. Luther had seen the fighting erupt and it was time to kick some ass.

"I may not be the fighting type, but I can sure help here," K-Mart said as she dropped her gun. She made her decision. She was staying on the deck. Not to fight, but to help the injured. She grabbed those nearby her that were bleeding heavily and moaning for help. K-mart half-dragged, half-carried them to the edge of the door that led to the bottom decks. She was going to try and help the wounded. It was the least she could do.

It was like Umbrella was toying with Claire and Chris. Those surrounding them dropped their weapons and resorted to hand combat as well. It was like a cruel mockery. Claire could just imagine them grinning underneath the black helmets. However, the Redfields were a force to be reckoned with. They punched and kicked their way through the force of Umbrella agents. Twisting necks, breaking arms, and rendering many unconscious. Of course, they received a fair share of blows and hits themselves.

Chris glanced at his younger sister. She was sporting a bloody nose and a split lip. Her left hand looked limp by her side. He guessed it was broken. Small cuts were all over her body and blood spatter could be seen on her clothes. Most of it from those she had killed. Her eyes met his for a moment. The look she gave him was that of depleted hope. Her will to fight was weakened more and more as they fought. He couldn't find anything to say to her as they moved into their fighting position. Back to back.

Claire had looked at her older brother for just a moment. He had a badly bleeding cut above his eyebrow as well as an already forming black eye. The way he moved showed he was limping and favoring his right leg to lean on. If he was in pain, he was showing no signs of it to her or the enemy. She smirked at his persistence. If she was going to die, it was going to be at her brother's side.

Jill had had enough messing around with Alice. As Alice was recovering from a recent blow to the stomach, Jill stepped in front of her and grabbed her throat. She kept a firm grip. Enough to keep Alice in her grasp, but not too much to crush her windpipe.

"Alice, time has run out for you," Jill informed the beaten up Umbrella Project.

"I don't think so bitch."

Jill turned to see where the voice had come from, only to be surprised with the butt end of an assault rifle. It hit her squarely in the face, making her drop Alice. Jill fell to the floor, momentarily stunned from the impact.

"Thought you could use a hand."

Alice looked up to see where the manly voice was coming from. She looked into the dark eyes of a man she thought was gone. It was Luther West!

Luther gave a small smile to Alice as he offered her his hand. She was beaten up pretty badly from what he could see from her face. Bruised lip, couple of cuts, and already forming bruises covered her face. The one thing that struck Luther though was her eyes. Above all else, those blue-green eyes of hers showed the same thing when he first saw her. Hope and a fighting spirit.

Of all the people Alice expected it was him. Luther. They guy she only new for a couple of hours tops back at the Correctional Facility. The guy that showed kindness even when she brought the terrible news of not being the rescuer from Arcadia. The guy that she thought was lost forever in the wrath of the zombies back in the sewers. Alice couldn't help but give him a small smile in return.

"Well look who it is Claire." Chris said in between breathes. He lifted his finger to point at Luther. Alice and Luther were about ten yards of he and Claire.

"I know," Claire answered back."And I think we are winning this now _brother_." The two glanced at their surroundings. More survivors than there were Umbrella soldiers standing. It didn't mean much though. The battle wasn't over just yet.

"Way to let your guard down," Jill exclaimed coldly. She brought her fist upward and hit Luther squarely on the jaw. An awfully cracking sound could be heard as she hit her target. It was a deadly uppercut that sent Luther into the crowd of people lying on the floor. She smirked as he hit the floor and didn't move.

"No!" Alice yelled. Because of her, Luther was probably now dead. Just like Matt. Just like Angela. Just like LJ. And just like Carlos. It was all because of her that those people she cared about were now dead. It was all her fault. She was a failure at keeping them safe. A failure at keeping promises.

"That was just too easy," Jill said as she cracked her knuckles. The busted lip from getting hit with the assault rifle already healing. "What? Don't tell me you were starting to like him."

Alice stared at the floor of the deck. She watched someone else's blood run through the cracks of the metal. This was the final straw. She wasn't letting her last friend from Raccoon City fall victim to Umbrella anymore. To her, she wasn't taking down Jill. She was taking down the thing that controlled her. Umbrella.

Jill frowned when Alice didn't respond back. She walked up to Alice only to be greeted with an unpleasant surprise. Alice's pupils were dilated. The glimmer of the Umbrella logo shining in her eyes.

"Oh shit."

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><p><strong>Was it an alright chapter? I hope I haven't lost any readers from doing the fight scene! It still continues in the next chapter.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

_Jill frowned when Alice didn't respond back. She walked up to Alice only to be greeted with an unpleasant surprise. Alice's pupils were dilated. The glimmer of the Umbrella logo shining in her eyes. _

_"Oh shit."_

Alice sent a massive wave of kinetic power toward Jill and the rest of her army. It was the same type of physic force she used in the Tokyo facility, but a lot larger and stronger. The force ripped up part of the metal deck and sent some of the parked helicopters over the edge of the boat. Not to mention the remaining part of the army into the blue ocean. Some of the Umbrella soldiers were alive, most of them dead as they were thrown by an unforeseen force. They had no chance of avoiding it.

Alice collapsed to the floor on her knees and hands. She was left gasping for breath and a pulsing headache accompanied her. Sweat dripped down from her face as she fought an oncoming wave of tiredness and pain. Her body wanted to give out. It was begging her to just collapse and let the darkness consume her for just a bit.

Claire and Chris finished up the last of the stunned Umbrella agents. Who could blame them? They had just watched a majority of their own force get wiped off the ship. Chris and Claire made their way over a couple of bodies and stumbled to the side of Alice. Chris was leaning heavily on Claire as she was his support for his badly injured leg. They were in no better shape than Alice was.

"Alice? Comon get up. It's over now," Claire told her softly. With her one good hand she tried to help Alice up. Chris leaned off of Claire to survey the damage and casualties. It did not by any means look pretty. He watched as K-Mart came in and out of the door with a couple of other volunteering survivors. He could see she was busy trying to find the injured amongst the dead.

"I need a minute Claire. I can't get up yet," Alice told the tired redhead.

"Alright," Claire answered back simply.

Chris moved from Alice's side and limped over to the still body of Luther. He checked Luther's pulse and was pleasantly surprised. He was very much alive. "Get up you bastard," Chris chuckled. "Don't think Alice is enjoying thinking you are dead."

Luther opened one eye and peered into the face of Chris. He heard what Chris had said, but damn, it really hurt to respond back. It felt like he had no jaw left. That woman could sure pack a punch. "I never thought I would get beat by a woman like that," he muttered to Chris. Chris just sighed and frowned at him.

"Hey! Alice! Luther is alright. Don't beat yourself up over a person that isn't dead," Chris yelled to her. He knew Alice felt guilty as they had left Luther behind in the sewer tunnel. They couldn't do anything at that time though. The entrance had caved in and there was no way back to save Luther. It didn't matter though, because he somehow miraculously made it out unbitten.

Alice pulled her head up to look in their direction. Luther remained lying on floor, but brought his hand up and formed a "thumbs up" to her. Alice could hear Claire giggle a bit at his form of telling them he was alright.

"He has a sense of humor I suppose," Claire said in a low voice. "Just like LJ." She gave a sad sigh. The short moment was just what it was, short.

The loud sound of metal twisting and being bent and pushed aside could be heard in front of all of them. Alice looked up in disbelief. Actually, she had a feeling Jill wasn't dead.

"That was a surprise Alice. I could have sworn that my superior had injected you with the serum to destroy those powers. You know. Umbrella was taking back its property." Jill pushed the last piece of metal that entrapped her leg. As she got up, you could see the cuts that ran from her legs, to her face. And they were healing. A piece of jagged metal stuck through Jill's thigh. She raised a glove hand to tear it out, and it must have hurt, because she let out a gasp as she finished taking it out. Blood seeped out of the new wound in her thigh.

"I managed to block some of that force you sent at me. Otherwise, I would have been blown off like the rest of those humans," Jill said bitterly. "I won't lie though. That hurt."

Alice got up from her kneeling position and stood in an unsteady fashion. The powers had taken a toll on her, but not enough to keep her useless.

The vertigo that kept Luther from getting up was gone now. He pushed himself up from the floor and stood by the side of his newfound friend Chris. Luther glanced at Chris's pose. It was rigged and tense, and it seemed like Chris was deciding on whether to say something or not. Luther was good at reading other peoples body language, not that it was something worth bragging about.

"Jill please. If you are in there, just stop it already. Fight the stuff that is controlling you!" Chris pleaded. Jill showed no signs of acknowledgement towards Chris. She just gave that poisonous smile of hers.

Claire moved to try and grab a handgun that was strewn on the deck from the earlier fight. Jill noticed the movement and sent the icicle like piece of metal she removed from her body at Claire. Claire noticed the projectile aimed at her, but there was no way she was going to be able to avoid it.

"No!" Chris yelled. He wouldn't be able to save his sister this time.

Alice took action. Her accelerated speed was back. While she wouldn't be able to move Claire out of the way in time, she could move herself. And she did just that. Alice used her body as a shield for Claire, the piece of metal embedding itself deep into her right side. Right through the ribcage.

Claire, Chris, and Luther watched in stunned silence. Even Jill was awestruck at Alice's foolishness. Alice bit her lip to stop from screaming. Her side burned before falling numb. She could feel the blood dripping down the side of her body, soaking in to her shirt.

Alice took advantage of Jill being caught off guard. They were both near the edge of the side of the boat, and Alice had a plan. Using her accelerated speed, Alice landed in front of Jill, and grabbed the woman's shoulders tightly. Both of them were at their end. Neither had enough to use anymore powers. Alice looked into the cold eyes of her friend. "We are going down together," she told Jill softly.

With one final feat of strength, Alice pushed the both of them off the edge of the boat. They fought in midair before reaching the water. Jill hit the water first with her back, the blow left her gasping, resulting in a mouthful of water.

"Alice!" Claire screamed. She ran to the edge of the boat where they fell off of. It was her fault that Alice took the blow. Alice had been there for her through thick and thin, ever since she caught up with the convoy that faithful day a horde of crows had attacked them. Alice helped her and the rest of the convoy escape, helped her through the memory loss she had gone through because of that spider that had been attached to her chest. And now, Alice took the blow that was meant to kill her.

K-Mart had seen the entire thing and had watched in horror as they fell off the ledge. Tears started running down her face as she ran to Claire's side. Chris hobbled his way to the edge. He was about to jump into the water before Luther pulled him back.

"I'm getting Alice back," He told them matter-of-factly. His adrenaline was running as he took off his black sports shirt and made the plunge. Luther didn't know why he was doing it. Maybe because the rest on the boat cared about Alice and he couldn't watch them in pain. Maybe it was because he needed to know why Alice stood so prominently at the front of his mind. Maybe it was because he was falling for someone he barely knew.

Alice ripped off the red mechanical spider from Jill's chest. Jill was unconscious ever since hitting the water. Alice smiled a bit. Hell, if she weren't underwater, she would be crying right now. She had finally accomplished one thing. Getting Jill out of Umbrella's clutches. Alice accepted the fact that she was probably going to die with Jill in a watery grave. She just guessed it was her time now.

Just as Alice felt her eyes close, a large hand grasped her thin arm. Her vision was too blurry to recognize the person that grabbed her, and before long, she slipped into unconsciousness. The image of a smiling Carlos was the last thing on her mind.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

On the shore close to where Luther had been, the debris of the Umbrella Helicopter that Wesker had been in, washed up in pieces. Amidst the charred and twisted debris lied a limp and lifeless body on the jagged shorline. In fact, the body was that of Wesker himself, and he wasn't actually lifeless or dead for the matter.

The burnt and mangled form of Wesker twitched and moved a bit. Wesker opened his eyes, of which were that same deep red color they had been just moments before the bomb detonated in his aircraft.

_Alice, you can never get rid of me. I am the next best creation aside from you. In fact, I am so much more. _Wesker smiled at his own thoughts. As long as he was alive, nothing was over.

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><p><strong>Well the fight on the Arcadia is over, but the question is, are Alice and Jill still alive? Please leave a review whether you liked or hated the chapter. I need my reader's opinions!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Luther walked in to the cabin room where Alice resided in. The room had a decent sized bed fit for two, a built in side shelf to the right of the bed contained books of various sorts, a closet to the left of the bed, and a small bathroom by the side of the entrance. It was one of the better cabins onboard and Alice deserved to rest in it.

The ship itself had a total of four levels. The bottom contained the engine room, and all of the supplies that was needed to keep everyone on the ship thriving. The third deck consisted purely of rooms that the survivors could reside in. Temporary homes for everyone so to speak. The second deck held the cafeteria, kitchen, and a lounge for survivors to hangout in. Of course, it was intended solely for Umbrella workers but now that wasn't the case. The second level also included a couple of cabins on the starboard side, of which he and Alice were in right now. The first level was of course the deck and Captain's quarters/control room.

It had been four days since Luther jumped into the cold Pacific Ocean to fetch Alice from a watery demise. She still hadn't woken up yet, but he knew Alice would be just fine. For one, her injuries were mostly all gone. Claire explained to him how Alice managed to bond with the T-virus and that it enhanced her healing ability. Luther sighed as he watched Alice sleep. She seemed so at peace, a rare sight for someone who made a living out of surviving the infection and battling one of the world's biggest Corporations. His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ah I see you beat me over here. How is she doing?" Chris asked in a low voice. Not that it would have woken up Alice anyway.

"Same as yesterday. No sign of her waking up yet. How is uhh…Jill doing?" He forgot her name for just a moment. To start off with, he never new Jill like Chris did.

"She is still out cold like Alice. Her wounds are healing faster than ours," Chris replied while pointing at his leg. He was wearing jeans, but underneath them were a tight layer of bandages on his extensive wounded leg.

"Yes, Claire told me that Jill probably bonded with the T-virus just like Alice and that is why their rate of healing is so incredibly fast."

"Yea at least that is what we are assuming. I mean we don't know anything for sure until we hear both Jill and Alice's story." Chris averted his eyes to the floor before continuing on. "Unfortunately we had to bind Jill to the bed. Claire insisted on it. She didn't want Jill causing a stir on the ship if she didn't happen to remember anything."

"Better safe than sorry," came a feminine voice from the hallway. It was Claire. She had heard what Chris said. "Look, you know it was necessary. I'm sorry."

"I know it was necessary, it's just hard to see a friend like that," he replied back.

"How do you know Jill exac-"

Luther was cut off from asking the question by Claire. She gave him a don't-ask-that-right-now look before continuing on with what she was aiming to say. "Anyway, I came over to get you two to grab some breakfast. Some of the survivors took kitchen duty and prepared hot meals for everyone. We need to discuss some stuff later on in the Captains quarters."

Both Luther and Chris nodded before following Claire to the kitchen. They weren't going to deny that they weren't hungry.

"Smells so good," Chris exclaimed while taking in a whiff of air. "Bacon! I thought all the good stuff was long gone ever since the Apocalypse." He hobbled over to the line with his plate in his hands.

Claire rolled her eyes at her brother before following him in line for some food. "If zombies weren't around and the world was actually still normal, I'd bet that you would have been fat by now."

Luther chuckled a bit at Claire's comment. Nothing better than watching a brother and sister fight back. It was a nice change from all the worrying and killing and such.

Luther looked at his plate of eggs, bacon, and grits. He was ready to dive in to them before thinking of something. "I think I'll go eat this in Alice's room." He didn't even wait for a response from the others. He just left the table carrying the plate of steaming food.

Claire watched him exit the cafeteria. "Chris?" she asked.

"Hmm?" He replied back, his mouth full of food. He acted like he had never eaten in his life.

"Don't you think Luther has gotten really attached to Alice? I think it's strange considering we just met him not long ago."

Chris swallowed his food before giving a reply. "What's the big deal? He is just worried. That's all."

Claire poked at her food with a fork held by her uninjured hand. She was just too lost in thought to eat.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Luther opened Alice's door to find an unexpected surprise. Alice was awake but that wasn't the surprise part. The surprise being he had caught her undressed and well, completely naked by the closet. She was bending down to grab clothes from a drawer. Alice turned to look at the intruder before trying to quickly pull up the towel on her exposed body. She had just finished taking a shower.

"I uh-oops. Should've of knocked first," Luther stammered. His dark face taking a deep shade of red. He left the room and closed the door fast as if a zombie were after him. He looked down at his now cold food, too embarrassed to eat it. _She has a good looking physique. Her skin looked flawless and her bu-. Ugh! Luther West you need to get that out of your head now. You haven't even know her for that long. Stop it!_

Alice could feel the blood rush to her face. Alice felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment. She knew Luther saw her naked. Trying to shake that from her mind she looked down at her body. She touched the side of her stomach where the piece of metal had been protruding from, just a faint scar was left now. She put on v-neck red shirt and a pair of black jeans to go with the boots she had. All the while wondering if Luther was still outside. She smiled a bit at remembering the look of shock on his face.

Alice opened the door to find Luther sitting at the side of it in the hallway looking at his food. "Had a good view while eating your breakfast?" Alice asked while raising her eyebrows slightly.

He stared at her, a complete dumbstruck look on his face. "Like what you see?" she teased him again, taking advantage of his inability to speak.

"I err..I'm sorry about that. I was a dumbass not to knock first," he said in a rushed voice. Luther mentally slapped himself for being so stupid.

"This incident will be kept a secret right?" Alice was back to her serious old self.

"Right," he replied. Everything was back to normal. The awkwardness was gone between the two for the time being at least. "How are you feeling? You were out for four days."

"Are you serious? That long? How is Jill?" she asked him, completely disregarding his question.

"Relax. I'll fill you in while we walk to the upper deck."

Alice gave him a confused look. She had no idea why he wanted to head up there. He laughed a bit at her moment of confusion. He just wasn't use to an Alice caught off guard and it was slightly funny. "We have some things to discuss with Claire and Chris."

"Oh," she replied deadpanned. Her poker face was back up again. It was time to get back to work.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Chris and Claire turned to see Luther walk in to the Captain's quarters with someone else in tow.

"Alice!" Claire jumped from her seat and ran to give Alice a quick hug. Alice inwardly flinched at the sight of Claire's bandaged hand because it look like it hurt.

"Well I didn't think I would actually be missed," Alice replied to the redhead grimly.

"Then you thought wrong," Chris said. He threw Alice his signature smile. It was the type of smile that made him look like a kid that was up to no good.

They all took seats at a round table in the middle of the control room. They were waiting on one person before the meeting could be started.

Just as Luther was about to ask what they were waiting for, the door slammed open and in entered an out of breath K-Mart.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to take care of some more people an-'' K-Mart stopped mid-sentence as soon as she saw Alice sitting at the table. "Alice? Thank god you are alright."

She sped walked to Alice and threw her arms around her. K-Mart was so glad to see Alice awake and alive. She could feel tears starting to brim. They were tears of joy because she didn't lose Alice. They had already lost too many.

"K-Mart I missed you too, but it's getting hard to breath with you hanging on so tightly," Alice managed to say. K-Mart quickly released Alice and gave a quick apology before taking her seat beside Claire.

"While you were out cold, K-Mart had taken action during the battle to help the wounded. She had some of the women survivors help her search for those in need of rescuing. Thanks to her, we were able to save many people's lives." Claire was on a roll. It was only natural for a born leader to inform everyone of what was happening on the ship. The way she had cared for her convoy was the same way she cared about everyone else on the ship. Alice was just glad their leading attitudes didn't clash. They worked together perfectly fine.

"We lost half of the eight hundred that fought that day. Over three hundred were injured. Thankfully with K-Mart helping, we have many other survivors joining in to take care of the wounded as they recover."K-Mart grinned at Claire. Even though she was only seventeen years old, the rest of the team considered her an adult because she was always taking on tremendous responsibilities.

"Alright, continue with the next topic Claire," Alice said casually. Time was an asset and they needed the run down on everything fast.

"Luther and I rummaged around the bottom level at what were stored in the containers. The food we found will hold us for three months tops. Plenty of gas and fuel. Sparse leftover weapons." Claire waited for someone to ask any questions. She glanced at everyone.

"Claire I know you have something else to say. What it is?" Alice asked. She could read Claire's expressions like a book.

Claire sighed before continuing." The naked truth is that we have to find a place soon. I don't think living on a ship is in everyone's best interest."

Alice could feel the heat on her cheeks. She could feel the faint blush on them. Did Claire really have to say naked? Of all the things to say she happens to word it like that. Perfect timing.

Luther looked at Alice before deciding to stare straight at the table so he could stay in control. He did not want to turn the shade of color Alice was. That would make it worse. Of all the chances, Claire just had to say naked today of all days. What a horrible coincidence.

"You alright Alice? You look like you are either angry, or something else because you are as red as a tomato," Chris stated, which in turn, made Claire and K-Mart stare at her. Alice gave Chris a death glare. He just had to be the one to bring attention to her. If she could kill with a glare, Chris would have been dead.

"I'm fine," Alice managed to say through clenched teeth. She honestly felt like beating the hell out of Chris. "Just some…pain from my wounds."

"I don't see any more wounds on you though," Chris continued. Alice didn't want to beat the hell out of him now. She wanted to murder him. He just didn't know when to stop.

"Please get on with the next dam thing," Luther exclaimed, in hopes of changing the subject.

Claire eyed Luther. Why was he acting mad? She had never seen him act like that. Oh well.

"Well the only thing I have left to talk about is Jill and there isn't much. First off she is restrained in her own cabin. We don't want her to harm herself or anyone else when she wakes up. The memory loss could cause her to become hostile."

"You sure were hostile when I took the spider off you," Alice murmured. She still remembered getting a good surprise punch when she had found Claire in Alaska. And it had hurt.

Chris smirked a bit. He had heard Alice. Apparently so did Claire as she frowned upon Alice for the unnecessary comment.

Luther continued to listen as the meeting ran its course. Small talk about what to do for people on board. Establishing rules, and what wouldn't be allowed and such. When everyone would take shifts to keep everything orderly and make sure the ship continued its northern path to Alaska. Yes. Alaska. They had also decided on that being their goal to get the survivors to. Just plenty of boring, but necessary plans that needed to be arranged one way or another. He couldn't help but not join in on the conversations as little as possible. To be honest, he wasn't feeling well at all. He felt sick. Like the kind of sick where you feel like the flu is upon you. The feeling of fever and nausea hadn't left him since after he had saved Jill and Alice. Maybe it was just from being in the cold water. He didn't know.

"Luther? Hey Luther. LUTHER!" Claire finally yelled from across the table.

"Huh?"

"So what do you think of the duty shifts? You and Alice have the same shift while Chris and I share the other. That way we have two people at a time to run things around here."

Luther moved his head up to gaze at Claire. "Sounds good to me as long as everyone else is fine with it too."

"Well I'm not. Who do I get a shift with?" K-Mart asked, her eyebrows slightly rose in annoyance. She wasn't all that happy about being left out.

"You pick whatever you want K-Mart. I can't give you a shift considering you still need more sleep than us adults," Claire replied simply while crossing her arms and still being wary of the injury on her hand.

Luther couldn't take it anymore. He felt like vomiting. Getting up quickly from his chair, he pushed off from the table and speedily left the control room. He took the stairs two at a time to reach the second level where his cabin was.

"What in the world?" Chris lamented. "Why did he leave like that?"

"He wasn't himself during the meeting if you hadn't noticed." K-Mart stated while lifting herself up from the seat, thus receiving the attention of the adults in the room. "He looked sick."

"I'll go check on him."

Alice left the control room without a second thought.

"Guess the meeting is over," Claire muttered in frustration. Well she had to admit they did get a lot of talking done."I guess our shift begins first Chris."

Chris frowned at his bossy little sister. It was not the way he wanted to start his day.

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><p><strong>I'm hoping I didn't butcher this chapter by trying to add some humor in xD. I want to give a big thanks to my reviewers! Unfortunately school starts tomorrow so my updates may be slower : **


	7. Chapter 7

Luther stumbled into his cabin and barely reached the toilet in time. He puked into it. A couple of seconds longer and he would have puked out in the hallway. It felt like he was puking his insides out.

Alice had trailed behind Luther only to lose him on the second level. She didn't know which cabin was his, but it didn't matter as she noticed the open door next to her sleeping quarter. Turned out Luther's cabin was right beside hers. She entered his door and leaned in the door way, watching Luther clean himself up at the sink.

"You know you could have said you weren't feeling well back there. You didn't have to hide it."

Luther looked up from the sink as he wiped his face with towel. "The meeting was more important. And trust me. I didn't feel like this at the start of the meeting. I feel like shit now."

Alice moved from her leaning position and followed Luther to the edge of the bed he was now sitting on.

"Let me check your temp."

"No really I am fine Alice," he stated while swatting away her attempts at checking him.

"Shut it and hold still." Alice was stubborn. And when she needed something done, no one was going to stop her. She grabbed Luther's arm only to release it just as fast.

Luther stopped struggling after looking at the puzzling face of Alice. Her face showed something between shock and anger. Uh oh. Did he make her mad?

"When were you bitten Luther," Alice demanded.

"What are you talking about? I never got bitten. I didn't even get a scratch from a zombie. Really," he replied to her.

Alice could tell he was telling the truth. But what she felt was not that of a normal person. He was infected.

"But you are infected. I sensed it when I touched you. My powers allow me to sense those with the T-virus around me. How I didn't notice it before is beyond me."

"I am not infected Alice! Why don't you believe me?" Luther couldn't help but feel agitated. It felt like Alice was calling him a liar. And if it was one thing, he was not a liar.

"Because it's hard to when I can sense you are infected on a massive level!" she exclaimed at him. Alice had to refrain from screaming at him. They didn't need unwanted attention.

"Look you can check me for bites." Luther rose from the bed. He was halfway from picking up his shirt over his head before crumpling to the floor.

"Gah! What the hell," Luther gasped. He felt a pain like no other surge through his entire body. It felt like fire was moving through his veins and arteries. He clasped his right arm as what felt like a series of needles poking it grabbed his attention.

Alice watched as what seemed like something crawled through Luther's right arm. As if a creepy crawly decided to house itself in the man's skin and flesh. But it wasn't an animal or some odd out of the world creature. No. Alice knew this all too well as she remembered experiencing it herself. It was the T-virus running its course in a victim that could bond with it. She watched Luther spasm in pain as she was helpless in alleviating it.

Alice clasped his shoulder and kneeled beside him. She remembered the pain that she experienced back during the fall of Raccoon City. She had been getting some guns and clothing from Surplus and More, an army/navy surplus store, when a spark of pain hit her. She hadn't known she was infected at that time. The pain and her heightened abilities made her aware of it though as she moved through the city in search of an exit or possible life.

K-Mart walked into the cabin as she had begun to worry after Alice left in search of Luther. She wasn't expecting the sight in front of her. A Luther very much in pain and Alice just sitting on the edge of the bed watching him.

Alice's eyebrows were furrowed up in worry as she glanced from the collapsed form of the man in front of her to the teen at the door.

"He is infected and I think it's the same as me. Go get Claire please," Alice asked K-Mart.

"Alright but will he be ok? I mean we should get him down to the medical people."

"It's temporary pain. Trust me. I have gone through it before," she informed K-Mart. K-Mart nodded and ran out of the room and to the control deck where she hoped Claire would be. And sure enough, the redheaded leader was in there alone looking at the ships systems.

Claire could see the look of panic on the teenagers face. "Something wrong?"

"Yea it's Luther. Hurry!" she told Claire before turning around to run back down the hall and onto the stairs again. Claire was right behind her, following her down to the second level where Luther was.

Claire entered the room to find the sorry form of Luther on the carpet floor. "How long has he been like this?"

"He is infected Claire. I just don't how he could have been infected though." Alice's face showed no emotion. It was the usual deadpan serious look that she seemed to be perfect at portraying. Claire disliked seeing that expression on such a pretty woman.

"Does that mean you have to take care of him?" K-Mart asked weakly. It was a nicer way of saying shoot-him-and-get-it-over-with-because-he-was-infected type of thing.

"I don't think you will have to do that," Luther replied calmly. The pain was gone and he was feeling good, if not better than he ever felt before.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Chris watched Jill's chest rise slowly up and down as she breathed. Jill was still asleep as she had been after the battle on the top deck. He gave a soft sigh and scooted his chair to be closer to the still form of his comrade. He smiled a bit as he recalled the first day he met Jill.

_Chris walked a long corridor in the S.T.A.R.S main corporation building. Only the best trained here and he was one of them. It was his first day of physical contact training. Hand-to-hand combat sorta thing. It wasn't new to him as he had some experience when he was in the marines. Best of his group at shooting, combat, support, basically everything. Not that he would brag about such stuff, it was just that he was good at it. Fighting was his thing._

_"Nice of you to join us. Took you long enough," a rough voice exclaimed. It was his former commanding officer who took the job before Chris did. Chris knew that serving his country was what he liked. He enjoyed it but really wanted to settle down. He had enough of the military style of living and being in such a respected top notch unit like this is what captured him._

_"Yea I decided to take your advice and enlist into this. It's for the best of the best after all," Chris replied haughtily._

_The booming laugh of his former officer echoed in the combat room. "Hahaha. Well let's see it go to some good use. There is your sparring partner. Just don't get your ass kicked like I know you will." He pointed to a man across the room kicking at a punching bag. No it wasn't a man. It was a woman. Her short cropped black hair swept from side to side and she landed hard blows on to the sandbag. He could see the perspiration falling down her neck and on to the blue shirt she wore. An indication of her hard workout._

_"You are really going to make me fight a girl?" Chris asked a little too loudly. He couldn't fight a woman. It wasn't his style._

_"Maybe you should watch your mouth before I kick your ass and make you regret saying that," the woman stated as she walked toward him._

_Chris tried not to stare but couldn't help it. The lady was hot for someone to be in the force. The usual women he saw were big and muscular, just borderline feminine from where he had been. It was so depressing not to see a hot chick in his marine group that he thought he would be forever condemned from getting a girlfriend. Or even laid again for that matter._

_"What a rude and obnoxious guy. Bet you are one of those sorry looking Marines that are all looks and no brains. You really are getting on my nerves," She said as she stopped in front of him. She could see she hit a nerve as an angry expression covered his face. It made him look cute._

_"And so are you. Why don't you just shutup so we can fight now. That way I can show you how to fight correctly considering those kicks you were throwing earlier looked sloppy and weak," Chris stated angrily. The look on her face turned from slightly angry to pure rage. Oh he got her mad. But that was what he was aiming for anyway. She insulted him and deserved that retort back._

_As soon as Chris stepped on to the practice mat, the lady, whom he didn't even know her name, sent a series of punches at him. He managed to deflect most of them before sending some of his own. They danced across the mat throwing punches and kicks here and there. Both kept their distance as they tried to learn more about each other's moves before trying heavier hits and tricks._

_"Ready to give up yet?" Chris asked while wiping some blood from the side of his mouth._

_"Not a chance," came the response from his opponent._

_Just as Chris was rounding up for another kick, the woman aimed for a low kick that swept him off his feet. His moment of weakness caused her to pounce on him. She pinned him down by sitting on top of his waist and holding his arms down with her own._

_"I think I've won." Her smile was contagious as it caused Chris to smirk and relax a bit. He wasn't going to argue. He got his ass whooped by a girl and accepted it like a man. Looks like his commanding officer was right about him getting his ass handed to him._

_"Yea I'll admit defeat," he muttered. Chris felt like his honor took a bit of a blow._

_The woman continued to smile as she got up and offered a hand to help him up. "The name is Jill. Jill Valentine."_

_Chris took her hand and got up from the mat. "My name is Chris. Chris Redfield."_

_He could tell it was the start of a new friendship and possibly more._

Chris shook his head of the memory and averted his attention to the Jill in front of him. He didn't care if her hair was now long and blondish or if she had powers. Jill was Jill and he wasn't going to move from her side. He still had the same feelings he had always had for her.

Chris grabbed her cold hand and covered it with his own. "You use to always want to be better than me ya know that? Ha."

"What are you talking about? I am better than you." The response startled Chris. He looked up to see a smirking Jill looking at him. Valentine was finally awake. And she remembered him.

* * *

><p><strong> I hope that clears up the reason why Chris is so concerned for Jill from previous chapters. And how did Luther get infected? That will be answered in the next chapter :) I'm still trying to update as soon as possible but school is actually very demanding this year.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Luther just stood in his cabin and looked at his arms, flexing them. His body didn't look different, but it felt different. The pain that crippled him just minutes before had been gone in an instant. He was starting to wonder if it even happened.

Claire shifted uneasily from side to side, not sure what to do. She gave Alice a look of plea to help her out. K-Mart seemed to notice Claire's uneasiness as well, and couldn't help but join in. Pretty much making the situation worse and more awkward.

Alice could see why Claire was uncomfortable. Especially when then person other than herself happened to have superhuman strength and used it against the survivors. That being Jill.

Alice cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Claire why don't you take K-Mart and go find Chris? Tell him what happened and that Luther is just fine."

Claire opened her mouth, getting ready to protest and argue with Alice but stopped. "Fine. Let's go K-Mart."

The teen nodded and followed the redhead out of the cabin and they both veered to the right in search of Chris.

Luther stared at Alice, waiting for an answer or explanation for what was happening. Alice sighed before plopping down on to his bed, her hand brushing away the loose hair that fell on her face.

"Luther, are you hiding something from me? I need to know what it is that you aren't telling me. It has been bothering me because I still have this feeling that I know you in some way."

Luther averted his eyes from her face back to the floor."Look….Alice."

"No. I need the truth. Especially when neither I, nor the others on the ship know you that well. I need answers to your sketchy past."

"What I have told you already is all that you need to know Alice. I was a former basketball player and that is all." What Luther wasn't telling her was that he led two lives in the past. One he was too ashamed to admit just yet.

"Luther that is bullshit! I need to know how the fuck you managed to bond with the virus and when you were infected!" Alice was losing her cool. She needed answers not only to satisfy her own questions, but to make sure that Luther was even trustworthy.

Luther paced back and forth before throwing his arms up in defeat. He turned, and sat and leaned his back on the wall opposite of Alice. A good distance between the two, but now they were face to face. They sat in silence for a bit, both looking at each other. If someone had entered the room at that moment, they would have thought the two were having a staring competition just now.

Luther exhaled loudly. "I can't hide it anymore. I'll tell you what I think may be the cause of me being infected. I know I look familiar to you now. Believe me. Since the time you crash landed that plane on the roof, I have been racking my brain to figure out why you look so familiar."

Alice nodded, encouraging him to continue on. She had to know. Even if what he was about to tell her was bad.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Jill moved her hands upward to Chris' face, only to be stopped by the chains that bound her wrists. She frowned and glared at her bindings, as if she could burn a hole through them by just staring at it.

"Mind telling me why the hell I am like this? I would love to know," Jill asked. Anger seeped in her words.

Chris sighed and looked away. "It's sort of a long story and I guess you haven't exactly remembered everything."

"Well I certainly don't remember doing something so bad that you would have me cuffed."

"You might not remember but we do Jill. At the time it wasn't exactly your fault but we have to take precautions," Claire exclaimed as she walked in the room with K-Mart at her side.

Jill could feel her heart beat faster. What did she do? Why couldn't she remember certain things? Jill looked at the women in front of her. She had no idea who the woman was. "And just who the fuck are you?"

"His sister," Claire calmly replied while pointing her finger at Chris.

Chris mentally sighed. If anything, Jill's attitude and demeanor was still the same. She was the tough chick that didn't let anything get in her way. He could already see future fighting between Valentine and his sister Claire. Just lovely.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Before this Apocalypse happened I had been drafted in to play pro basketball for a top notch team." Alice noticed a smile on Luther's face as he talked. "It had always been my dream to play for the NBA and I was getting my chance." The smile was replaced with a sad frown. "But before my first game I was in a car accident. It left me with a broken leg and right arm. I knew that despite the injuries being unavoidable, my chances of playing were shot. No way were they going to keep a player that was already injured."

Alice felt sorry for Luther. She knew all too well that dreams could be crushed, because the world was cruel. Back before zombies were rampant, it was survival of the fittest in business and now it's still not really different in a sense. Because it still ends up being survival of the fittest, but now, it had to do with literally life and death.

"I know you think a big old tough looking guy like me could never cry. Well waking up in the hospital knowing I wouldn't be able to do what I worked for all my life made me cry. It made me angry, and frustrated." Luther clenched his hands into fists. "That day an Umbrella worker, cofounder of the hospital chain and pharmaceuticals department, gave me an offer that was hard to refuse."

Alice's head shot up at the word of Umbrella. She hated the corporation now with every fiber of her own being.

"The guy told me they could fix my broken bones fast and get me back into playing. Maybe not for my first game, but for the second one at least."

Luther looked into Alice's blue green eyes before going on with the story. "I didn't believe it at first. I mean how could they fix my mangled leg in two weeks? The femur is the biggest bone in the body and mine was broken."

"But they ended up convincing you that they could right?" Alice asked.

Luther nodded. "Yea. That they were working on a new medicine that could reverse and increase healing and regeneration of cells in the body. I asked what the side effects were and what the catch to it all was."

"Let me guess. They told you it was fairly new and nothing bad would happen. That it would work and it would be free as long as you did something for them."

"Exactly. I could get the vaccine as long as I chose to work for them while playing basketball. That I would basically get Umbrella's combat training on the side as well as being a guinea pig for their experiments." Luther gave a short sigh. "At that time I told myself I had nothing to lose anyway. So I joined them and they swore me into secrecy of the product."

Alice's throat felt dry. She had her answer. He was a former employee of Umbrella. Just like she had been, but he just didn't know that. Or maybe he did.

"So I guess now you can hate me all you want and just get rid of me. If I had known Umbrella was like this back then I would have never accepted the offer."

"So that is why you seem so familiar to me now," Alice muttered, completely disregarding what Luther had just said.

"What?" Luther asked. Making sure he heard her correctly.

Alice walked up to Luther and offered her his hand. She helped him get up from his sitting position on the floor."I worked for the Umbrella Corporation as well. I remember seeing you plenty of times."

Luther gave Alice a confused look. "I don't understand."

"I guess you better hear my story now. Maybe then you won't think I am so heroic and good after all." Alice motioned him to sit on the bed as she stood. "I use to work in a high tech facility called the Hive. It was the center of control for the Umbrella Corporation and I was head of security…"

For over an hour Alice recalled the events of what happened. How she worked with Spence in a fake marriage, how she hid the hives existence, how the Red Queen went homicidal and killed over five hundred employees. How she had memory loss and how she went down into the Hive with One and his team, only to learn the truth of her fake husband and escape with a guy named Matt.

Alice shivered at the thought of it all. She hated remembering it and she hated being a part of it all. She didn't even continue with the story of Raccoon City and how she herself came to be infected. It was too much to talk about at the moment.

Alice froze as Luther's arm wrapped around her shoulder. She leaned in to the half embrace, as it was comforting.

Luther just stroked Alice's arm to comfort her. Alice needed a friend, maybe something even more. "No matter how tough you are on the outside, you are still human Alice. And humans are still always vulnerable to emotion. I'm telling you that it's alright to let it out once and awhile."

Alice let out a huge exhale. Like she had been holding it in the entire time she described what happened. "I guess you're right about that Luther," she muttered. Alice put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "But you tell anyone about this and I will beat the hell out of you."

Luther smirked. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. But imagine the look on Claire and Chris's face if they knew you could be so un-Alice like. Giving me a hug and-"

Luther was interrupted by an elbow blow to the stomach from Alice. She smirked because she made her point that Luther was in no way going to mess with her.

"I think we better go and head over to where Claire is," Alice stated as she removed herself from Luther's hug. Alice enjoyed his embrace but knew other things were a top priority and they needed attention. One being to find Claire and trade shifts so that she and her brother could get some much needed rest.

"Lead the way then," Luther said while opening the door for Alice. He smirked as she walked past him. Alice was indeed a special person.

K-Mart stood at the entrance of Jill's room and peered from side to side as if she were a security guard looking for something out of the ordinary. Alice gave a tiny smile toward the teen as she approached her. "Alice!Luther!"

"Well don't you seem a little cheery today," Luther told K-Mart.

"Yea you are missing out. Claire and Jill were having quite the talk. I had to leave the room because the tension was just so thick in there. It was like smothering me. I have no idea how Chris is managing to keep the two at peace and-"

Luther put his hand on top of K-Marts head before telling her, "Whoa. Slow down there, you are talking so fast I don't even know if Alice could hear what you just said. And you know she notices everything."

Alice glared at Luther before averting her attention to K-Mart. "Jill is awake?"

"Yea."

Alice noisily opened the door and into the room, successfully grabbing the other three people's attention.

"Alice?" Jill asked.

"It's me," Alice whispered all the while walking to the bedside of Jill's. Effectively ignoring the other two people in the room.

Chris mouthed to Claire to get out of the room and let Alice and Jill have some privacy to talk. Claire narrowed her eyes at him but finally agreed and followed him out.

"I don't know what to say to you," Jill said as she stared at the blond in front of her. "Claire told me what happened on the top of the ship…and I'm sorr-"

"No. Don't be Jill. You weren't you back there and it was Umbrella's fault," Alice replied simply.

"I have been trying to remember but it's hard to. It's like my memory is all fuzzy except for tid bits. Like I remember we escaped Raccoon City and who you are, and I remember Carlos, Angie, and what happened to Peyton." Jill closed her eyes for a moment. It still hurt to think of her close friend who had turned zombie and how she had to shoot him.

Jill opened her eyes quickly at the feeling of her arm being tugged. Alice was taking off the cuffs and binds. "No way in hell are you a danger to us."

Jill smirked. "Yea you are still a step ahead of me. Remember how I told you that I'm good, but not that good. Well it still applies like it does back then."

Alice took a seat in the wooden chair by the bed. "I'll have to admit you are a worthy opponent know with those powers."

Jill grabbed her hair, noticing the different color and length of it. "I don't know how this all happened. I can't even tell if I turned myself in to Umbrella or was captured. It's so confusing not to know."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You didn't willingly turn yourself in to Umbrella Jill. Trust me. From all that I remember you hated their guts the same as I do."

Luther walked in to the room to check up on the two women.

Jill squinted a bit in his direction, as if to get a better look at him. That of which seemed a bit ridiculous to Alice as she knew Jill's eyesight was enhanced just like hers.

"LJ? You sure look different from last time I saw you. You look taller and, well, better looking."

Luther tilted his head and stared at the women. He was confused.

Alice let out a full out laugh before answering Jill. "That isn't LJ. His name is Luther. Luther West."

Jill gave Alice a death glare. "Well my bad. This memory loss isn't helping any. How are LJ your man Carlos doing anyway?"

Alice's poker face of an expression slipped and her body instantly tensed. Jill could see the sadness and pain in Alice's face. It didn't go unnoticed by Luther either.

"They…didn't make it. LJ was bitten and ended up biting Carlos. Carlos saved the convoy by getting us into the fenced in Umbrella facility so that we could grab a helicopter to fly to Alaska. I guess I have a lot of stories to tell you later on so that it all makes sense."

Jill was silent as was Alice. It hurt to think that the remaining from their original little group that escaped Raccoon City was now dead. Alice was just glad that Jill didn't ask about Angela. She wouldn't be able to tell her the horrible truth of what happened to the little girl.

Trying to change the subject or at least lighten the dark mood, Luther cut in to break the silence. "It's been a long day for all of us. I came in to tell you that dinner is being served at the cafeteria."

Jill studied the man in front of her. He was a tall African American man with an athletic physique and well groomed facial hair with a clean shaved head. She smiled a bit as she noticed how the man looked at Alice. His eyes portrayed a sense of caring and concern as he looked at Alice.

"Sounds good to me. Jill?"

"I don't know if I should be around people right now. " Jill responded. Back when Jill was In S.T.A.R.S she enjoyed the work. Loved the fact that she was serving her city and helping people out. But now, thanks to Umbrella, they had taken that last piece of enjoyment out of her life. The survivors wouldn't think of her as an ally or leader or anything. No, she would be an outcast.

"How about I just bring both of you food then?" Luther asked kindly. He didn't really have much else to do.

"Please," Alice replied.

Luther smirked. "Oh now you are being nicer. What a change in attitude since we were trapped on land."

Alice chased him out the room after his little comment. He was just like LJ in the joking manor, but nice and caring like Matt and Carlos had been. He was a mixture of all the wonderful people she had known.

"Ya know. Of all the memories I can actually remember of you Alice. None of them had you smiling like you are now," Jill remarked.

Alice just shook her head at Jill, but the smile was still plastered on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>I decided that I had needed to put up a chapter to make up for the time I've missed updating this story. I hope this chapter is enjoyable and that hopefully everyone had a good Thanksgiving :)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Claire felt annoyed after relaying the same message every hour on the hour. She turned on the radio transmitter and picked up the walkie talkie like device to repeat her message. "This is Arcadia broadcasting on the emergency server. We offer food and shelter, safety, and security. There is no infection. I repeat. No infection.

Claire said it once more before going off air and laying the radio device she spoke into down. "I feel like a robot saying that over and over again."

"You sound like one too," Chris muttered as he sat at the table bored out of his mind. He had his head in his hands and was making a face that verged between a frown and a pout.

Claire kicked his shin at the comment, and was visibly satisfied at seeing her brother keel over in pain. "That fix you out of your boredom?" Claire smirked and cheerfully walked out the room to start her routine walk aboard the ship.

Chris rubbed his leg while secretly thinking of a way to get back at his younger sister." Oh she is so going to pay for that."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Jill exited her cabin wearing what appeared to be black and purple windbreakers. It had been over a week since she had woken up, and it had become a habit to get up early in the morning to take a stroll aboard the Arcadia. The reason she was up before dawn was because it was the only time to get a good walk in without getting death glares and stares from the survivors who were out and about.

Jill stopped as she nearly bumped into Claire as she rounded a hallway corner that led to the stairs.

"Hey watch where the hel- oh it's you Jill. Sorry about that," Claire muttered.

Jill raised her eyebrows slightly. "Bad mood I see."

Claire threw her hands up in frustration. "It's just that we have been taking our time going slowly by the coastline of the country looking for survivors. But nothing! Maybe we should have just headed straight for Alaska. I mean we would have reached it by now."

Jill and Claire had formed a quick bond over the week. A great friendship that neither thought would be possible after the first encounter they had with each other. But when you end up having to be in the presence of the other daily, you learn to get along to an extent.

"We will be there in two days anyways. It was worth a shot to see if people were still out there. It was worth the risk," Jill stated. She put her hands in her jacket pockets and shrugged. "Besides. You are doing a great job running the ship anyway. Something that would have been horrible for me or Alice to do."

Claire sported a smile and relaxed a bit. As if Jill's comment was the reassurance she needed. "I see you cut your hair, but where in the world did you find the hair color?" Claire questioned.

"I have my sources," Jill replied coolly. Jill's hair was short and black. Just like it had been before she was taken in by Umbrella. It suited her more and was just easier to manage than the long hair she had had.

"Well just don't make Chris drool and stare anymore than he does already," Claire sneered.

Jill felt a blush creep up her face so she turned around and headed on to finish up her routine walk. "I'll see you around Claire."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Luther had an idea too irresistible to not do. To scare Alice in her sleep. He had to wake her up anyway as it was their turn to take the shift and he knew Alice always woke up early, so he used his solar powered alarm clock to his advantage and had set it extra early.

Luther sneaked out of his cabin after washing up and getting dressed, and silently opened Alice's cabin door. (Luther didn't know why she kept it unlocked). He tried his best to keep quiet since he knew that Alice had exceptional hearing.

Luther hovered over the sleeping form of Alice, ready to close in and yell right in her face.

Alice had always been a light sleeper. Nightmares and always having to be alert made her a light sleeper. She was wary of everything when she was both awake and asleep.

Alice twitched slightly. She could feel a presence in her room. As a matter of fact she could sense someone breathing and hovering by her bedside. That of which alarmed her. Was someone trying to kill her in her sleep? Did Umbrella have a spy onboard?

Alice continued to fake sleep, waiting for the chance to surprise her target before they surprised her. As she felt the beings breathing even closer, she opened her eyes and sent a fist in an upward direction.

Smack dab onto the assailant's ugly mug! Or so she thought.

"Ouch. Fuck!" Luther hissed in pain. He covered his face with his hands to stop the blood that dripped from his nose.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have snuck up on me like that you idiot," Alice stated angrily. She sighed and rubbed her temples before removing the covers and getting up to assess the damage she inflicted.

"I think you broke my nose," Luther exclaimed as he backed away from Alice.

"Let me see."

Luther reluctantly stopped backing up and let Alice take a peek at his face.

"Sorry about that," Alice muttered. "We better go get some stuff from the medical room to clean you up."

"No I just need to wash up the blood. It will fix in no time by itself."

"Right. The T-virus," Alice realized.

"Yep. Anyways let me wash up again and I'll meet you up at the Captain's room. It's our turn to cover for Chris and Claire."

Alice nodded. She pulled on a coat, slid into some boots, and left the room. Her appearance wasn't of the upmost importance right now.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Jill walked into the controls room with two cups of steaming black coffee. One for herself and one for Chris.

Chris turned on his cozy swivel chair and gapped at Jill. She looked even hotter with her hair short. It was just like he remembered the way she looked back in Raccoon City.

"Ummm….I brought you coffee Redfield," Jill said as she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Chris shook his head, feeling like an idiot for staring at Jill like he had just been right now. "Thanks I could use some caffeine. Boring as hell up here."

"Well Alice and Luther should be up to cover you any minute now. Was wondering if you weren't too tired then maybe we can go grab breakfast together," Jill asked casually.

Chris hated that survivors looked at Jill with murder. He knew it would be easier for her is she was always accompanied by someone. It upset Chris that the Jill he knew now was actually concerned about how other people thought of her. Before the world went to hell, he remembered Jill as the lady who didn't give a damn about what others thought. She was who she was and you either accepted it or not.

"I could use a bite to eat. I'm starving," Chris told her. He gave Jill his genuine smile.

"You are always hungry," Claire sarcastically said as she walked in. Alice tagging along right beside her.

"I'm ready to cover for the two of you. Go ahead and get some rest."

"Sounds good to me but where is Luther?" Jill questioned Alice.

"Oh he will be up in a minute. He is running behind," Alice simply replied as she prepared to broadcast the usually message for any survivors still out and about that weren't on the ship. Unlike Claire, she didn't mind replaying the message. She just did it in her usual monotonous voice.

"Alaska her we come!" K-Mart cheerily yelled as she trotted into the control room. Immediately covering her mouth with her hands after noticing Alice was on air and broadcasting live.

The adults beside her gave out a long sigh and shook their heads. K-Mart was always K-Mart.

"Sorry," she mouthed apologetically.

Alice flipped the switch to make them go off air. "It's alright."

Unfotunately it wasn't exactly alright.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Did you just catch that?" Wesker asked.

"Yes, they are heading to Alaska and the coordinates of the ship proves they are on route to the area," an Umbrella worker said.

"Excellent. Prepare to send the troops to that area. Lay a surprise attack for the group to make them remember that they aren't safe in any place."

"Hold on a minute, you do not have any permission to order the workers in my facility to go out and help you. They are under my command," the French commander stated in his broken English. He was in charge of the underground facility located under Paris and he was not letting Wesker take over.

Wesker smirked and popped his neck. He removed his sunglasses to reveal the red glowing eyes of his.

The French commander stepped back at the sight. "What the hell did you do to yourself? You are a sick son-"

Wesker wrapped his gloved hand over the man's throat. "I'm sorry. Were you saying something?" Wesker pulled the Frenchmen up from the ground.

"I think you were aiming to say that I am a supreme being that is allowed to overtake this facility in the event of your death."

The Frenchman at that point was turning a shade of blue, and he feebly kicked at Wesker, but it had no visible affect.

Wesker merely laughed a cynical laugh as he crushed the man's windpipe and tossed him aside like a rag doll.

"Now get me those troops before you end up like that piece of trash," Wesker commanded the Umbrella worker at the computer station.

"Yes sir!" he answered in a frightened voice as he rapidly typed on the keyboard.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks <em>Bloom2000<em> for being my only reviewer for the past chapter! lol. I hope this chapter amused you as well as my other readers. Hopefully I'll get some more feedback on what else I should incorporate into the story.**


	10. Chapter 10

**First off I'd like to apologize about the late update. School has not been kind to me lately. I just "love" homework and tests. -_-**

* * *

><p>Alice remained like a lump on her swivel chair in the control room as she relayed the same message on the transmitter every 5 minutes. And with every 5 minutes, Alice couldn't help but lose a sense of hope that there were even any survivors left. She closed her eyes, clearly in deep thought of how they would be able to manage in Arcadia, Alaska.<p>

"Thought you could use some caffeine to wake up," Luther stated as he brought in a steaming cup of coffee.

Alice didn't even open her eyes. She remained in her chair with her feet propped up on the table, the transmitter device in her left hand, and the other hand waiting for what Luther assumed was the coffee he had brought for her.

He passed it to her outreached hand before grabbing a seat to sit right next to her.

Alice muttered a barely audible "Thank you" to Luther.

"Well your welcome I guess. Now mind telling me why you seem so lifeless. Or super lost in thought? Whichever the two it is."

Luther crossed his arms as he waited for the response. As the minutes passed, Luther gave a sigh of frustration before taking a sip of his own coffee.

Alice opened her eyes and turned to face Luther. "I was just thinking. That's all."

"Mind telling me what you were exactly thinking about?" Luther asked curiously.

Alice's face remained expressionless as she responded dully. "Yes, I do mind."

With that being said, Alice turned the other way to face the frontal window as she relayed the message right on time as it hit the 5 minute mark.

"Well I see you're not the social one today. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Luther asked sarcastically.

Getting no response back, Luther got up from his chair and left the room to make a routine check of the ship's occupants.

Alice could tell Luther was upset at her not responding back. Alice just didn't know why she had to act the way she was acting. She couldn't help it. For years Alice worked to build a wall around herself so that she would never become attached to anyone else again. She didn't want the pain from getting close to someone only to have them die right in front of her. It happened with Angie, and it happened with Carlos. If she just let her guard down even once to bring in Luther, Jill, Claire, and Chris closer, then they would probably die. Umbrella seems to kill all those that Alice deeply cares about. The worst thing about it for Alice though, is she can't do anything to stop it. The sense of helplessness is the one thing that is never lost for her.

XXXXxxxxXXXXX

Jill exited her cabin once more as it was now seemingly late at night. Or at least, late enough so that many onboard the Arcadia wouldn't recognize her on the top deck of the Arcadia. It had become rather routine for her. Take a brisk walk around the Arcadia at dawn when most of the ship's occupants were asleep, get breakfast with Chris, and then head back down to her own cabin for most of the day. Then when night came along, she headed back out to the top deck for some much needed fresh air and space.

Just as Jill opened the door heading out to the deck, she ran smack dab into the overshadowing figure of Luther.

"Sorry Jill I didn't see you there," Luther said apologetically as he helped her up from the floor.

"Funny. This is the second time I have run into someone today. First Claire, and now you. I'm starting to think my reflexes are a bit slow," Jill mentioned as she dusted herself off.

Luther smirked and followed Jill to the outer deck of the Arcadia. "Well maybe you are slow."

Jill turned around, her eyebrows raised slightly. "How can you judge my speed when you can't exactly keep up with me?"

Virtually all her memories came rushing in as the days passed. Including those of the fight that took place onboard the ship, and she remembered real well the nasty punched she delivered to Luther.

Luther gave Jill a taunting nudge before backing up a bit away from her. He remembered the story Chris had told him awhile back. It was some story about how Chris met Jill, and that Chris got his butt kicked by her. If anything, he knew she would take up a challenge. Especially when someone taunts her, so he decided to exploit that.

"If you had speed then maybe you could have stopped me from hitting you," Luther retorted.

"First off, that was not a hit. That was a nudge if anything. Practically didn't even feel it. And second off, if you don't want your ass kicked than you better stop it."

It was the only warning Jill was going to give him. Not that she couldn't see what he was trying to do. She could read Luther like a book just like she could read Chris. Luther was taunting her into a little playful scuffle. But Jill doesn't play fight, she fights without showing mercy. Courtesy of the S.T.A.R.S combat training she received.

"Well I guess you are going to have to try and kick my ass because I'm not going to stop. I could use a little training," Luther stated as he moved himself into a fighting stance. Never once did his goofy grin fall off his as he continued to talk back to Jill.

Jill inwardly laughed while she kept her stoic face intact. She wasn't about to let her guard down. "Fine with me. I could use some exercise, or rather, the little warm up that you are going to provide."

"Oh don't worry it won't be a warm up. I'll give you a good exercise. You look like you need it," Luther daringly replied.

The look of anger that flashed across Jill's face didn't go unnoticed by Luther. He overstepped the boundary, and Jill was going to make him pay dearly for that mistake.

She didn't even enter a fighting stance and instead, launched a kick aimed at Luther's torso….

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Chris walked into the controls room while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He grabbed the swivel chair to the right of Alice and sat next to her.

"Aren't you tired of being miss messenger already? Go ahead and get some shut-eye Alice."

Alice just shook her head. "You look like the tired one Redfield. Maybe you should get a couple more hours of sleep. Luther and I can cover for a little bit longer."

"I can't go back to sleep now that I'm awake so hope you don't mind me hanging out for a bit here."

Alice did mind, but didn't have the heart to say it out loud. She was still in a foul mood, yet tried her best to hide it. However, thoughts of her hateful mood were suddenly interrupted by sounds. Sounds coming from what she guessed the deck.

"Do you hear that Chris?"

"Hear what exactly? All I can hear is the static from that stupid radio transmitter."

If Chris couldn't hear it than Alice pretty much assumed it was her enhanced hearing that was picking it up.

Alice kicked off from her chair and peered through the window to the deck below. Sure enough, she could see the source of the sound. Two figures covered in the shadow of darkness were fighting. One was apparently much taller and bigger than the other.

"What do you see Alice?" Chris asked.

"Take a look down there," she answered back, pointing at the two people fighting.

Chris placed his hand on his gun holster, ready to pull it out if needed.

"Shit. Could that be Umbrella?" he turned to ask Alice.

Alice watched as the smaller figure below grabbed the bigger one and threw him or her upward. Straight at the glass windows where she and Chris were behind.

Alice reacted and flung herself at Chris, knocking him down to the floor and shielding him with her body. And not a moment too soon because the glass windows shattered a second after they hit the floor.

"Thank me later," Alice muttered as she rolled off Chris while bring up her revolver at the unknown assailant. Actually the assailant was the opposite of that much to her surprise…

xxxXXXXxxx

Claire gave out a long yawn as she stretched on her bed. She looked to her clock, and it showed that it was 4a.m. She groaned as she tore her gaze away from the clock.

"15 minutes until my next shift with my idiotic brother. I'm going to need a good amount of coffee before I head up to the controls room."

xxxXXXXxxx

"Luther? What in the hell were you doing?"

He could only manage a groan as he shifted over onto his back.

Alice shifted her focus from him to the door as it was slammed open by Jill. Jill appeared wide-eyed at the scene before her. Broken glass littered the floor, and a remarkably unharmed but apparently still in pain Luther lying on the floor.

"I can explain," Jill said quickly.

"Yes please do Jill. I'd love to know why you were fighting in the first place, and on top of it, managed to ruin the windows of this ship," Alice hissed.

"You would think those windows would have been more solid considering this is an Umbrella made ship. I thought they had top of the line equipment and stuff," Chris muttered.

"They were already damaged from the fight with Umbrella beforehand. I'm not surprised they gave away like that, especially with that new human projectile on the floor over there." Alice pointed to Luther as he got up. "I mean I know were low on ammo but couldn't you have found a better alternative Jill?"

"We were practice fighting," Jill replied coolly. "It might have been a little bit aggressive, but he needed some training so I offered to help him."

Chris moved to Jill's side and gently put his hand on her chin to tilt her head to face him. For a moment, it looked like Chris was planning to just randomly kiss her, but in reality he was just assessing the damage. Alice was pretty much thinking that it wouldn't be too long anyway before he did kiss Jill. The look Chris gave Jill showed more than just concern.

"Jill, you look like you were in some horrific accident, not in training," Chris said as he touched her now forming black-eye.

Alice turned to glare at Luther. She gave him a, what-the-fuck-were-you-thinking-look. Or at least, that's how Luther interpreted it.

Luther shamefully walked to Alice's side. "It was my fault. I might have enticed her into fighting with me."

Alice inwardly chuckled. She knew that Luther didn't know a thing about Jill's attitude. Well that is, until now.

"And you are the reason she got all these cuts and bruises," Chris angrily replied.

"Now hold on a minute Chris, he isn't the only one to blame," Alice countered. She didn't need someone else pounding on Luther too. Luther looked just as beat up and exhausted as Jill.

"You are right about that Alice. You can take some of that blame considering this was your shift to manage the ship!"

Alice could feel the anger boiling up inside her. "Why don't you stop pointing fingers and go tend to Jill's injuries. Make yourself useful."

Jill didn't like the remark that Alice sent back at Chris. Alice of all people should be the level headed one. "Alice was that really necessary to say? You know all of us are working to keep this ship running and keep the occupants safe."

xxxXXXxxx

"Claire! Wait up!"

Claire knew that voice all too well. She smiled.

"What is it K-Mart?"

"Nothing really, I was just wondering where you were heading."

"You ask me this everyday K-Mart. You know it's my turn to take the next shift so I'm heading up to the controls room. Now mind telling me why you are up so early?"

"Oh you always ask me this same exact question everyday!" K-Mart dramatically replied. "But if you really must know, it's because I chose this shift with you and Chris."

Claire ruffled K-Mart's hair with one hand as she had a mug of coffee in the other. "If you say so kiddo."

"Stop calling me that!" K-Mart tried to act mad about it, but her attempt failed as she couldn't hold back her smile from Claire. K-Mart would never admit that she took the shift just because she liked being around Claire. Claire is like the older sister she always wished she had.

"I think today is going to be a good day K-Mart," Claire said smiling.

"Why do you think that?"

"I just do," she replied back, opening the door to the control's room. "Or perhaps not," she mumbled as she looked at the scene before her…..

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry if this chapter wasn't up to what you were hoping for. This was more of a filler chapter if anything so that I can transition back to the main action story, but i still hope you liked it. And thank you to those who reviewed!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

_"I think today is going to be a good day K-Mart," Claire said smiling._

_"Why do you think that?"_

_"I just do," she replied back, opening the door to the control's room. "Or perhaps not," she mumbled as she looked at the scene before her….._

XXXXxxxXXX

Claire stood at the entrance of the door, mouth agape at the sight in front of her. Broken glass littered the floor of the control room, and a rather tense looking Alice stood by Luther with a broken table separating them from her dumb brother Chris and Jill.

"What the hell?" Claire said slowly, trying to process what was in front of her. K-mart peeked around Claire to look into the room because she was just as curious.

"Well I guess we better get this cleaned up," Luther said as he dusted of his shoulder, managing to get the glass off. He acted as if fighting and getting thrown into a window was an everyday occurrence.

Alice pondered for a moment on what to tell Claire and K-mart. She already concluded that anything she said would sound ridiculous anyway. Fortunately, something else caught their attention.

K-mart pointed out towards the front of the ship. "Look! Look!"

The entire team moved toward the now open window to check out what had K-mart jumping up and down like a five year old.

The sun rose brilliantly over the horizon, shining all of its glory on the single destination they had been aiming to get to for over a week. The Alaskan wonderland that housed the new promise land of Arcadia, free of infection. It was the place that everyone hoped would be the new future for the remaining human civilization to live in. And it was right in front of them. Maybe just about two miles away.

XXXXxxxXXXX

A man with dirty blonde hair and strikingly dark blue eyes peered through a set of binoculars. He got up from his crouched position behind a melting snow embankment, and headed for the cover of the pine trees to his left. His gloved hand reached underneath a pile of leaves to grab a black rifle, of which was loaded and ready to fire at a moment's notice. The young man positioned himself with a clear view of the oncoming ship. He temporarily removed his leather jacket so it wouldn't hinder his aim. The back of his shirt, or rather uniform, revealed an R.P.D symbol.

"That ship definitely belongs to Umbrella," the man growled as he looked into the scope of the rifle…

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Wesker peered through his dark sunglasses at the computer screen in the Umbrella Facility hidden within Paris, France. His eyes glowed a menacing, deep red color as an evil smile protruded on his face.

"Looks like the coordinates show that the Arcadia ship is about to land on Alaskan ground. Unfortunately, we cannot do the surprise attack now. It is far too late for that," Wesker exclaimed to his subordinates. "Next time those troops better be ready faster."

"Y-yes sir. I'm sorry about the delay. It was just that-,"

The subordinate's feeble attempt at explaining was cut short by Wesker shooting him point blank with a silver Desert Eagle handgun. Blood splattered across computer screens, and on to the grey uniforms of the remaining Umbrella officers that were in Wesker's almighty presence.

"Now that I have all of your undivided attention, I'd like to inform you of the new plan. You see, Alice and her lovely rag-tag team of friends will predictably set up a refuge in Arcadia for those survivors aboard the ship." Wesker paced back and forth as he spoke slowly to the visibly trembling Umbrella officers. "With this in mind, the best opportunity is to launch another full on attack right after they get nice and comfy in that area. Not only will we destroy Alice and her troublesome team, but we will also crush the last glimmers of hope that those survivors cling on to. Agreed?"

The officers nodded their heads in unison. None daring to disagree with their superior.

Wesker smiled once more as he removed his sunglasses and ran a hand through his hair. "Good, now carry out this new plan. I myself have some testing to do before the day we invade. A possible new strain of the T-virus is in the works at the moment."

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Alice! Is this really it? The place we have been searching for?" K-mart asked excitedly as she shook Alice's arm, begging for an answer.

Alice let out a small smile. "Yea this is it."

Claire frowned as the ship approached closer to the shore. "I remember this place and they aren't fond memories either. This is where I was almost captured by Umbrella and they slapped that red spider thing on my chest. Like the one that was on Jill."

"I know, I'm the one that got it off you Claire," Alice mentioned with her eyebrows raised. "Why did you bring that up?"

"Look. Stop the ship now and we will send a boat to the shore first to scan the area. I cannot afford to put the survivors at risk," Claire stated. Her protective leader instincts were kicking into full gear.

Jill looked at Claire. She admired the young redhead for her dedication and concern of the ships occupants. Claire was hands down the most capable leader for the people. Neither she nor Alice would be able to disagree with that.

Alice bit her lip, knowing Claire was right. It would be futile to fight the decision because she agreed with it herself. "Alright, I guess that sounds like the most reasonable approach."

"I suggest we cover ground for the first day to not only look for anything out of the ordinary, but to also check for the best place to start making a shelter for everyone," Jill stated as she slapped in an ammo clip into her Glock handgun. "An area that will be easy to defend and set up a perimeter around."

"You sound like you speak from experience Jill," Chris said.

Jill looked him straight in eyes. "I am speaking from experience Chris."

"Now the question is, who is going to stay and protect the ship, and who is going to check for threats on land?" Luther questioned.

"Well I am definitely going. Need to get off this damn ship that's for sure," Alice stated. "As for who is staying? You, Jill, Claire, and K-Mart are."

"But that just leaves you and Chris to head the search on land Alice. That is ridiculous!" Claire sputtered. Her moment of leadership temporarily lost with her outburst.

"I know. I'm going with you guys," Jill informed.

Chris put a hand of Jill's shoulder and gently squeezed it. Jill slightly winced in pain because of the effect of fighting with Luther earlier. "Actually Jill, I agree whole heartedly with Alice on this. You are in no condition right now to head out with us." Chris turned toward Luther, his expression as serious as ever. "Same for you Luther. Both of you are spent at the moment. You guys would be more of a detriment than help."

"Well then they can stay and I can go with you guys too," Claire offered. She looked at her big brother, hoping he would cave in and say yes.

Chris closed his eyes and just shook his head before speaking in his calm voice."No Claire. Not when you are the leader aboard the ship. The survivors look up to you, and they listen to you. It is best if you stay."

"Well how about I go with you and Alice!" K-Mart said with a smile.

"No!" the rest of the team quickly said in unison.

"Alright gosh. I was just trying to help…"

"You can help me K-mart. After all, you always follow me around the ship 24/7," Claire exclaimed as she ruffled K-marts hair.

"I do not!" K-Mart's cheeks turned a bright shade of red and she folded her arms.

Alice turned and headed out the door. "Chris, be ready to set off in an hour or I will leave without you."

"Gotcha," he responded. "Well I have to go get ready, see you guys in a bit." He waved off to the rest of the team as he exited the door shortly after Alice.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Alice swiftly walked down the stairs to head to her own room to prepare. She unlocked her cabin door and quickly closed it behind her. "Why is it so hard for me to not get attached to everyone?" she muttered under her breath as she headed to her small dresser drawer.

Alice shook her head to clear the sad thoughts from her mind. No time for self pity. It was time to focus on her next task. Alice opened up one of the sliding dresser drawers and entered in a 4-digit code. She reached for the weapons within it. Two S&W magnum revolvers and a brand spanking new MP5A5 automatic. Alice tossed them on to the bed with a small pouch of ammo before spinning around to open up her tiny closet. Her hands moved quickly through the options of clothing until she settled on a long sleeve black shirt, thick pants, and a fur jacket, along with black boots that complimented the outfit.

Satisfied with the snug fit of the clothing, she sat down on the bed to load up her handguns, momentarily stopping as her cabin door slowly opened. Luther walked in, closed the door behind him, and leaned on to it. His dark eyes focused on Alice's blue green eyes as she looked up…

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Chris washed his face to wake himself up a bit. He looked into the mirror at his own reflection. A man with unshaven tanned skin, tired looking eyes, and messy short brown hair peered back at him. "Wow I look so… not myself," he muttered. "Jill probably thinks I look ugly now," he moped.

Chris sighed and forced himself to move away from the mirror to grab a fresh pair of clothing from his closet. He settled on a blue long sleeve shirt, a black winter jacket, a pair of combat jeans, and his old trusty black combat boots. He looked mismatched at first, but when you are Chris Redfield, you make that clothing work for you.

Chris popped his knuckles as he crouched near his bedside drawer to put in the 4-digit code to open up his own case of choice weaponry. A sleek, black, 12-gauge police favored shotgun along with two Berretta handguns. Of course, he couldn't leave without his Kukri blade either, so he grabbed it as well.

Just as Chris was contemplating whether to get some food before heading off, his cabin door opened, and Jill walked in with a tray of hot chicken noodle soup and a thick slice of bread.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Hmmm why did the ship stop?" the man with the faded R.P.D shirt pondered as he continued to look through the scope of the rifle. He shifted slightly before completely deciding to grab his leather coat and put it back on. The cold Alaskan weather was getting to him. The young man wasn't worried about being spotted at all. His hiding place was well concealed by a mixture of thick forest pine trees, berry bushes, bits of snow, and dead leaf debris. "The last thing I need is Umbrella bringing more zombies or experiments to this area," he muttered to himself.

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><p><strong>So I'm more than sure you guys can guess who the mysterious man is going to be, but if you still don't know, you will definitlely find out in the next chapter! As for the little part where I say "Jill does speak from experience", I'm kinda refering to the portion of the Resident evil novel where it explains that she leads a group of survivors in Baltimore, hence the "reason" she is missing during Extinction. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

Luther walked in, closed the door behind him, and leaned on to it. His dark eyes focused on Alice's blue green eyes as she looked up.

"You know, there is such a thing as knocking Luther," Alice said with her eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. She wasn't expecting his company, but it also didn't mean she wasn't hoping for it.

"You are right. I should have knocked first. Bad habit I guess," Luther replied with a smile. He rubbed his neck and shifted from one foot to the other, all of which Alice observed. To Alice, he looked a bit antsy.

Alice got up from the bed and walked up to Luther. She sighed. "Look. I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier. It's just hard to explain right now and I wasn't ready to respond to you. In a way it's probably my fault you ended up being kicked around by Jill."

Luther chuckled a bit.

"What?" Alice said defensively as she folded her arms and leaned on one hip.

"Oh nothing Alice. It's just your apology was turning out so nice and then you add that slight remark about me fighting Jill. What makes you think I got my ass kicked anyway? Maybe I actually won."

Alice couldn't help but smile at him. She poked him in the ribs and laughed. "Well I didn't say that you lost, I just assumed that you did because you had been punched by her before. The way she launched you that day was not pretty."

Luther stood with his chest popped out, his ego still inflated as ever. "Well I think I won this one if you ask me," he huffed.

Alice rolled her eyes as she aimed for a playful hit to his stomach, but Luther grabbed her wrist before she could get to him.

He moved in closer to Alice, still holding her wrist gently. He peered down at her, his expression serious. "Alice, be careful when you head out. You don't know what is going to be out there."

Alice could have easily broken from his grasp. She could have easily pushed him away from her, but she just couldn't. Alice was afraid to admit it, but she actually liked Luther's presence and his touch. It reminded her slightly of Carlos. No. Carlos was dead. She had to forget him. Luther was an entirely different person. Her mind screamed to not let Luther in, but her heart disagreed with that logic.

Luther braced for Alice to slap him or just shove him aside. He was prepared for it, but that moment never came to his utter surprise. Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'll be fine Luther. Don't worry about me."

"It is kind of hard not to worry," he muttered as he released his grasp.

Alice daringly leaned in closer to Luther and whispered in his ear. "I'll be back before you even know I'm gone."

Luther relaxed a bit at her comforting whisper. There was just something about Alice's voice that managed to always reassure him.

Not trying to make the moment awkward, Luther backed up slightly from Alice and gave her a small smile. "Well you better keep your word on that. I will see you tomorrow Alice."

With that being said, Luther turned around and exited the cabin, leaving Alice dumbfounded and slightly wondering what had happened. She never felt like this around any other person. Her heart fluttered every time Luther got near to her, and she felt so relaxed when she talked to him alone. It was as if he could easily lift all her worry from her shoulders by just talking in that deep caring voice of his. "How do I always get myself into situations like this?" she said to herself.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Just as Chris was contemplating whether to get some food before heading off, his cabin door opened, and Jill walked in with a tray of hot chicken noodle soup and a thick slice of bread.

"Oh wow you are just so kind Jill," Chris said with a grin as he clapped his hands together, ready for the meal.

"What are you talking about? This food is for me," Jill simply replied as she sat by Chris on the bed with the food on her lap.

Chris's face fell slightly as she said that. Jill smirked before handing him the tray. "I was just kidding. I already ate, but couldn't help saying that. The look on your face was priceless."

"Aww that was mean," Chris responded, but he took the food without hesitation. "And thank you Jill. You saved me the trip to the cafeteria."

"It's the least I can do for you Chris. Considering I'm stuck babysitting the survivors that absolutely loathe me while you head out with Alice." Jill couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that Alice was going to go with Chris.

"I would rather have you recover for today than head out," Chris informed her. "The survivors just need to accept the fact that you aren't the bad guy anymore. It was never your fault to begin with."

Rather than awkwardly watch Chris eat, Jill laid down on the bed with her arms behind her head as she stared up at the white, dull ceiling. "Well they just won't understand that Chris. Not after what I did to them."

Chris frowned slightly before taking a bite of his bread. "In time they will Jill."

Jill sighed. "I certainly hope so." She closed her eyes for a bit, savoring the quiet moment by Chris's side.

Once Chris was done with his food, he washed it down with a couple of gulps from his water bottle, placed the tray on his bedside table, and turned to look at Jill. She still had her eyes closed. He visually traced her body with his eyes. She was still as hot as ever. Her body was still toned, her hair was still the same style, and her face was still as beautiful as ever. She was still the same Jill he had fallen for years ago.

Chris playfully poked her face to get her to open her eyes. She swatted his hand away. "I want to sleep," she muttered quietly.

Chris chuckled. "That's what you have your own room for. But since my bed is just so much more roomy and spacious, and just because I am so kind, you can sleep in my room for today."

Jill opened her eyes and gave him a rare smile. "Well thanks for the offer. That is just so nice of you," she said a little sarcastically.

Chris braced himself to get up from the bed. "Well I better get going already."

Jill grabbed his arm before he could get up. "Hold on Chris." He turned to face her, a questioning look on his face.

"Just be careful when you are out there. Don't do anything stupid," she told him softly. Very unlike the tough Jill she usually acted like. This was another side of her Chris never really got to see. It made her seem defenseless and vulnerable. It made Chris care for Jill even more if that made any sense.

Chris turned to lean over Jill. His goofy smile still was showing on his face. He daringly traced his fingers on her jaw line. "I'll be fine Jill. I'll be back before you even know it."

Chris forced himself with all his might not to kiss her. He wanted to plant a kiss so badly, but didn't want to risk their friendship if she didn't want what he wanted. He got up from the bed, holstered his weapons, and opened the cabin door. His eyes met once more with Jill's before he turned and left.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Right on time Redfield," Alice said as she grabbed the crank to lower the boat into the water. "It's bright and earlier and a perfect time to head out."

Chris yawned. "A little too early if you ask me. I'd rather be asleep right now."

"The lack of action and fighting has made you lazy. Careful there Chris, you might get fat with missing all of that exercise," Claire commented as she approached the two.

Chris looked down at himself and frowned. "No I won't." He said it more to reassure himself rather than Claire.

Claire approached Chris and flung herself at him, giving her brother a big, clingy hug. "Be careful Chris. You are the only family I have left now you know."

Chris returned the hug. "I'll be just fine. Not like I'm leaving for that long Claire."

Alice fake coughed, effectively grabbing the Redfield's attentions. "Well just remember that we have our walkie-talkies. Make sure to have it with you at all times so we can relay if you need to leave the area."

Claire nodded. "I'll make sure to do that. I can't afford to let the survivors down. In the mean time, I already relayed a message to everyone on deck to remain in doors for the day."

"Good."

"We will see you later Claire," Chris informed her once more.

Both Alice and Chris hopped down the ladder on the side of the ship, and headed down onto the boat that waited beneath in the choppy blue water.

"You steer the boat and I'll be the lookout," Alice told Chris.

He merely nodded in agreement and started the motor.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Looks like they are sending out scouts. The little boat has the all too familiar Umbrella symbol, but its two occupants don't resemble typical Umbrella agents," the young man said to himself as he peered through the scope. He was still debating whether to pull the trigger, or catch them by surprise and have them answer questions. He chose the latter of the two options. He got up from his position, placed the rifle back underneath the leaves, and pulled out his two handguns instead.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Remind me again why you are making me pull the boat up the shore," Chris complained as he tugged.

"Because you are strong and I'm busy tying it to this dead piece of wood."

"But you have special powers that make you stronger. You have manly powers," Chris remarked with a smirk. "Ouch!"

Alice had thrown a good sized rock at him from the shore for the snide comment. "Oh sorry. My hand slipped. I meant to throw that into the water."

"I'm so sure," Chris replied as he rubbed the back of his head. He could feel a good sized bump already forming.

"Quit complaining. Let's go already."

With that they both jogged off the beach and on to the lightly snow covered ground, carefully observing their surroundings as they passed by multiple trees and clearings of grass covered with snow.

Alice stopped as she approached the edge of a thicket full of trees and bushes on the outer edge of the embankment.

Chris lifted one of his guns carefully. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I heard something." Alice approached the bushes, only to have a winter rabbit jump out and skitter away.

Chris jumped at the sudden movement. "Whoa! That actually scared me. I guess I'm just so use to zombies popping out that I didn't expect that."

Alice rolled her eyes at Chris. "You are such a chicken." Secretly the rabbit had scared her too. She could still feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

Reassured it was just the rabbit, Alice moved in further through the pine trees, Chris right behind her. As Alice placed her foot on a small pile of what looked like leaves, something tight wrapped around her ankle.

"Shit!" Alice looked down. A tough, cable looking rope was wrapped around her ankle.

"What is it?" Chris asked alarmed. Oblivious to what she was staring at. Alice being pulled upward and dangling upside down by a steel rope grabbed his attention though.

"Behind you Chris!" Alice yelled as she grabbed one of her guns while upside down.

"Don't move," the man said calmly, his gun pointed at Chris's head, and the other at Alice.

"Drop the weapon," he stated. Pushing his gun harder into Chris as a sign that he wasn't afraid to shoot."And you up there. Don't even think about touching your weapons or I'll shoot your friend before you can even grab them."

Alice clenched her teeth in frustration as she remained dangled by her leg up in the tree. She could feel the blood pulling to her head. What annoyed her most was that she could easily get out of it. But with her partner at risk, she couldn't.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Chris spit out angrily.

"How about I ask the questions and you do the talking instead?" The young man replied. Calm as ever. "First off. Why are you here?"

"As if we are going to tell you. You will just bring your Umbrella friends into this!" Chris said.

"Well to me it looks like you are the ones that work for Umbrella. After all, the ship you just left is an Umbrella ship."

"Well I'd just love to inform you that we don't work for a piece of shit Corporation such as that."

Alice peered at the young man. She noticed the R.P.D badge on his left shoulder. "Hold on. You worked for the Raccoon City Police Department?"

The man looked up in surprise. "Yes, I did."

"How the hell did you get out of there then, and what is your name exactly?" Alice continued to ask.

The man, realizing his two captives were not Umbrella agents, lowered his weapons.

Chris swiftly moved back from his captor, but didn't raise his weapon.

"I managed to get out before the infection was at its peak. Before that bastard Caine sealed off Raccoon City. My name is Kennedy. Leon S. Kennedy."

Alice grabbed a pocket knife and broke the rope that held her upside down. She landed perfectly on both of her feet.

"My name is Alice Abernathy. I used to work for Umbrella Security at a place called the Hive. Long story short, I'm aiming to destroy that corporation that led to the destruction of this world by releasing the T-virus."

"And my name is Chris Redfield. Former S.T.A.R.S unit member. I'm in the same boat as Alice. I want Umbrella to suffer for what they did."

Leon placed his weapons in their holsters. He ran a hand through his weirdly cut blonde hair. "Well then, I'd like to apologize about the predicament earlier."

Alice smirked. "No worries. We probably would have done the same thing."

* * *

><p><strong>So I did manage to get this chapter up on Saturday...just very late at night lol. Now for me to hide from the criticism of this chapter!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**I would like to thank PenguinGoddess and Bloom2000 for reviewing my chapter 12 of this story as it kept me motivated to continue on writing. I hope you two, as well as all of my faithful readers, enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

><p>Claire furrowed her eyebrows and frowned in disgust as she sat across the team's new companion, Leon Kennedy. He was chewing down on a mound of stir fried chicken and vegetables, acknowledging no one around him as he continued to eat. Claire could feel her right eye twitch in annoyance at the young fellow. Enough was enough. For one, she knew hardly anything of the man, other than what scarce information Chris and Alice had provided an hour earlier when they reached the ship with him in tow.<p>

As she recalled it, Claire remembered how Luther, K-mart, Jill, and herself cranked the small boat back on top of the enormous ship with a new person in it. The thoughts that had ran through her mind as well as everyone else's were endless. Who is the man with the blonde hair? Why isn't he tied up? Does he work for Umbrella? Why are Chris and Alice letting him hold a loaded rifle? Have they lost their minds? Needless to say, the jumbled and crazy questions running through her mind were quickly put at ease as Chris reassured her by informing her of what happened down on land. Of course, maybe Chris mentioning that Alice was caught in Leon's rope trap wasn't the best idea to say at the time. Luther nearly leaped at Leon and almost punched him, but thankfully Alice anticipated his actions and intervened. Effectively putting herself between the two to guard Leon from what would have been a bloody fight that more than likely would have not ended in his favor. Leave it to Alice to save the day again, Claire thought jealously.

A forced and awfully fake cough interrupted her thoughts. Leon, nearly done with his food, had placed his fork down and stared at Claire with intense blue eyes. "I didn't mean to interrupt your daydreaming, but that blank stare of yours that seemed to be directed at me for the past five minutes was starting to bug me."

Claire turned a deep shade of red, clearly embarrassed at her actions. "Sorry I couldn't help it. For one I have no idea who in the world you are. Two, I still don't know if I can trust you. Just because you convinced Alice and my brother doesn't mean you can convince me. I have people on this ship who are relying on my lead, and I can't have a possible threat slipping by."

Leon ran a hand through his blonde hair, something he tended to quite often, and sat up slightly straighter. He glanced around the cafeteria and seeing that is was nearly empty, decided to set everything straight for the redhead sitting across from him. "Well that is a nice excuse and all, but I know the real reason you were staring at me."

Claire looked at him, clearly confused.

"It's because I'm just so incredibly handsome isn't it?" Leon said with a pearly white smile.

Claire angrily kicked his shin from underneath the table, receiving nothing but a painful groan in response.

Leon rubbed the sore spot on his leg, already knowing that he was going to have a good sized bruise. The redhead chick in front of him was all business apparently. No luck for him. "Alright alright. I was just trying to lighten the serious mood but oh well."

"You can lighten the mood as soon as you tell me more about yourself. I want to trust you, but give me a reason to first," Claire responded as she fixed her hair into a ponytail. If Leon didn't know any better, she practically looked like a sexy interrogator, and he was the lucky person being interrogated.

"Fair enough. Let's see, I guess I should start off with what I did before this world became a living hell..." And with that Leon ventured into his storytelling.

xxxXXXXxxx

Luther stared down the scope of the black rifle that he personally confiscated from Leon, much to Alice's annoyance. He was on the top deck of the ship and facing towards land, looking through the scope and pretending to spot zombies between the thicket of dense forest which was pattered with a light snow cover.

Unbeknownst to him, Alice quietly crept up from behind and whispered "Boo!" right in to his ear. A childish act but very effective in scaring people.

Luther jumped in fright and dropped the rifle. Alice just shook her head, suppressing a laugh as she retrieved the gun from the floor.

"Why would you do that? You know the rifle was loaded!" Luther said as tried to retrieve the gun from her hands.

Alice swatted his hands away. "I'll show you how to shoot a rifle properly that way you won't have to pretend."

The defeated looking Luther nodded and watched as she took aim towards the embankment. "The log that you and Chris tied the boat to earlier, hit the branch that is sticking out on the end of it," he challenged. He was sure she wouldn't be able to hit it. Considering they were approximately a mile away and the cold, oceanic breeze would hamper her accuracy enough to make her miss.

"Sounds like a bet to me. Be ready to suffer the consequences Luther West." Alice tightly wrapped her black, leather gloved hands around the rifle and steadied it on her shoulder. She peered through the scope with her right eye focused on the target. A piece of dull driftwood that they had used to tie the boat to when they had landed on the shore. Alice pursed her lips. She wasn't satisfied with the shooting conditions, as it left her with less of a chance to actually hit her target.

"Wow we don't have all day missy. By the time you shoot I'll be an old man."

Alice sent a glare at Luther. She turned back to focus. Instead of steadying the rifle on her shoulder, she propped it up on to the railing at the edge of the ship to help. Alice peered through the scope once more. With her target, the branch of the driftwood in clear shooting view, she aimed and fired...and missed.

Luther whistled and walked towards Alice. "Well I'll admit that was still a pretty good shot. Maybe you're just a little rusty." He gently patted her shoulder as mock comfort.

"Okay hotshot. Your turn to shoot. Let's see if you can do any better." Alice roughly handed him the rifle. She couldn't believe she missed.

Luther took the rifle and propped it up the same way Alice had. He took a moment, held his breath for better accuracy, and fired. And just like Alice, he missed miserably.

"Well then, was that just practice? Because if I didn't know any better, I'm pretty sure you just shot and missed too," Alice said as she folded her arms. Her face expressionless.

Chris noisily walked up the steps to where Alice and Luther were. He had been watching from a distance at the two. He clapped his hands loudly. "Bravo! Bravo! You guys just missed a piece of wood. An unmoving object I might mention. Now hand me that rifle and I'll show you how it's really done."

Chris stripped the rifle from Luther's hands. Both he and Alice watched Chris wordlessly. Secretly hoping he would miss like they did. The former S.T.A.R.S member aimed the rifle at the piece of wood, focused, and fired when the wind came to a standstill. "You guys don't need binoculars to see that I blew that branch off. I'm more than sure those powers of yours made your eyesight a lot better than an average human. At least, that's what I recall from what you told me Alice."

Luther gaped in disbelief. Alice just stared with the usual stoic expression, but Chris knew she was impressed. He smirked. Satisfied at the outcome. "That's the training of a S.T.A.R.S member my friends," he boasted.

"Oh just shut up already Chris. You specialized in weaponry so it would have been a shame if you didn't hit the target." Jill walked up the steps toward them, her boots making a continuous clanging sound across the deck as she approached them.

"Just as you specialized in hand-to-hand combat Jill," Chris said with a smug look on his face.

"Anyways, I came over here to get all of you to the captain quarter's. I think Claire is finally satisfied with her little interrogation of Leon."

"Took long enough. My sister can be such a pain sometimes," Chris replied. "She just always has to have her way of taking care of things."

XXXXxxxXXXX

Wesker laughed a cynical laugh. It was complete. The new strain of the T-virus was complete.

"Sir, I highly recommend we test this out on another subject first. You have no idea what this could do to you. Not enough testing has been done!" The scientist merely peered through his thick glasses as he trembled with the shot that contained the new virus in his shaking hand.

"I prefer to be the one and only test subject thank you very much. I'm in charge and I demanded you inject me with that or hand it over so I can do it myself."

The scientist just stood in the same place, unsure of what to do. Wesker reached for the shot and tore it out from the scientists grasp. "I guess I'll be doing this myself then."

"Sir, I am telling you don't!"

Wesker backhanded that scientist, rendering him unconscious. Unfazed, Wesker continued and injected himself. The crimson red liquid within the shot was gone as he pushed it into the injection site on his forearm. He clenched his teeth, slightly surprised at the scorching pain in his veins as the new strain of virus traveled up his arm, slowly turning it a slight tinge of red as it encroached up toward his shoulder.

"Damn it!" Wesker yelled as he clenched on to the seat of his chair. The pain reaching an unbearable degree. Maybe he should have listened to the scientist after all.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

"Everyone is here so the meeting may now commence," Claire said as she slapped her hand on to the table, gesturing everyone to take a seat. "As you all know, Leon is now a member of the team and we are lucky to have him."

Leon sported a small smile and gave a short wave of his hand.

"Glad my sister decided to trust you," Chris said with a smirk. Claire merely shot him a glare from across the table.

"Not to interrupt the happy moment but let's cut to the chase. What is our next plan of action?" Jill stated as she set her gaze on Claire.

"Leon has been mapping out the small portion of Arcadia since he got there. According to him, the thicket of forest goes on for about a mile, then you reach a rather nice clearing that is closed off by some mountains."

"Yes. The nice thing about it is that the mountain closes away any possible access for those trying to reach the area by land. Picture it like a Peninsula. Water surrounds it on all three sides except one, and the mountain encloses it. Virtually making it a safe haven," Leon added confidently. "The plus side is water trickles down the mountainside from what i assume could be glaciers on the other side of it. Over times it has created a nice river that reaches to the shore. So we pretty much have a nice flow of fresh water to count on."

"So what you are saying is that the area will be guaranteed zombie free?" Luther asked.

"Unless zombies can swim through freezing water or scale a snow covered mountain, then I am more than sure it will be zombie free."

Chris exhaled a sigh of relief. " Alice I guess you were right about this place. I'm glad you told us to head to Alaska. This could very well be where we can have the survivors safely taken care of. It's like a Utopia."

Alice could feel her heart racing. It was pounding in her chest as she listened to every single detail about the area. A safe haven? Could this really be an end to all the zombie fighting? Could they really live on the rest of their lives without having to worry about being turned into mindless flesh eating creatures? Her racing thoughts came to a standstill and she felt a hand cover her clench fist on her lap. It was Luther's. He gave her a concerned looked, wondering what was wrong. She relaxed a bit and gave a convincing smile to show him she was alright. Nothing to worry about. Convinced, Luther slowly moved his hand away and directed his attention back to the heated and excited conversation amongst the others. Alice's hand felt cold. She wished Luther still had his hand on hers.

"Well if we are heading down there tomorrow then I'm going to make sure to get some rest. I feel like a zombie," Alice half-jokingly said as she got up from the table.

The others nodded at her and wished her a goodnight's rest. That of which seemed to be a rarity these days.

She reached her cabin rather quickly and shut the door behind her, but chose not to lock it. There was really no need to as it was fairly safe aboard the ship anyway. Alice decided to take a shower, hoping it would help ease her troubled mind enough to let her fall into a decent sleep. Yet, all she could think about as she let the warm water run across her body was what had been discussed at the meeting. Alice closed her eyes, and realizing the shower did nothing to calm her nerves, shut off the water and stepped out in a towel. She dried herself off, put on red silky underwear, and a large t-shirt as sleepwear before slipping into the bed covers and turning off the lights.

"It won't be safe until I destroy Umbrella for good. Otherwise everyone around me will die. And it will be all my fault," Alice whispered to herself as she lay in bed before drifting off to sleep.

With the meeting being officially over, Luther left to his cabin, but his feet and legs seemed to have a mind of their own. Instead of going to his, he went to Alice's cabin instead. Luther couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with Alice. For one, she was quiet at the meeting and two, she didn't act the slightest bit happy about the possibility of a safe place to live in.

He placed his ear to the door of the cabin. He sighed and sadly shook his head. She was having nightmares again. He had been checking up on her that past couple of days, wondering why she chose to sleep so little. This was the problem that caused her insomnia. Nightmares. And just like every other night, he was prepared to head toward his cabin to sleep for there was nothing he could really do to help. Except tonight was different. He was tired of not being able to help.

"Get yourself together Luther. Go inside the cabin this instant," he pep talked to himself. It worked as he watched his hand turn the knob and open the door to reveal the dark cabin room. He could see Alice toss and turn underneath the covers, sweat forming on her face. Not really giving much thought to it, he walked to the side of the bed and slipped into the covers beside Alice. He was more than sure she would wake up and punch him in the face, but that didn't happen.

Alice just continued to moan and groan. It was like she was suffering in her dreams. Luther wrapped his strong arm around her toned waist and pulled her towards him. "Everything is alright Alice. Nothing is going to happen to you. I'll protect you," Luther whispered in her ear, knowing he wasn't going to get a response back anyways.

The sleeping Alice instantly stopped tossing and groaning. Her rapid breathing turned into slow and steady breathes as her body relaxed into Luther's. He gazed down at her, taking in the beautiful sight. He gently tucked away a couple of loose strands of hair that stuck to her face from the perspiration earlier. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to get a goodnight's sleep too.

* * *

><p><strong>Get ready for some much needed action, suspense, and romance in the next couple of chapters. Peace just doesn't last too long for Alice and her crew!<strong>


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